US Patent & Trademark Office has published a patent application from Apple today which shows that the iPad will soon be able to deliver “original message alerts” that are available today on the iPhone, with the help of a vibrating motor (via Patently Apple). The filing reveals a dual channel audio codec chip that has two output pins, which can be used to drive a a vibrator and a single speaker simultaneously.
The audio codec chip in the iPhone and iPod devices includes a dedicated signal channel to process a vibrator signal. However, using the same audio codec chip in the iPad device would be inefficient as the dedicated vibrator signal channel would not be used. According to the filing, each channel on Apple’s new audio codec has its own Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) and audio power amplifier to receive an audio signal for driving a speaker. The integrated circuit chip is capable of driving either a speaker and a vibrator simultaneously or a pair of speakers simultaneously, through the same output pins.
Each channel has a multiplexer with a first input that is coupled to receive an audio out signal from the output of a DAC, a second input that is coupled to the output of a variable signal generator, and a control input to receive a selection signal. The selection signal determines whether the channel is to be used for an audio signal or whether it is to be used for a vibrator signal. The multiplexer output is coupled to a corresponding power amplifier of the channel. The selection signal may be received, via a digital communications interface of the codec, from a central processing unit in the audio device that determines whether the specified channel in the audio codec chip is to drive a speaker or a vibrator through the same output pin. The audio codec chip may include additional audio channels and output pins.
The patent application was originally filed by Apple in Q3 2011.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Vibrator support eh?
Sounds kinky
gigateeee
“iPad To Soon Get Vibrator Support For Messages Alerts, Reveals Patent”
I didn’t know Patents were a means to announce / confirm new features that would be available “soon” … or EVER!. Oh wait… that was just USMAN playing oracle again.
USMAN should stop writing about Apple patents (or ANYTHING) and go back to just looking at X-Rays.
Come on, don’t player hate
But he’s often making stuff up. How can you justify that?
Dude don’t have anything better to do then come here and target the blogger, if your not happy with the content GTFO we won’t miss you, trust
It’s my right to protest an a-hole who continually tries to pass off his lies as facts.
My first thought was Apple was starting to make sex toys. “Vibration” would’ve been a better world for the title.