Apple patent filing details long-range wireless charging at microwave frequencies

It’s Thursday, usually the day at Apple World Today where Dennis Sellers outlines some of the best Apple patent filings or grants that have been made over the previous few days. Dennis is enjoying himself in the American Southwest this week, but we still have a fascinating Apple patent application for you — “Wireless Charging and Communications Systems With Dual-Frequency Patch Antennas“. 

This particular application was made in October of 2015 and is now coming to light. The patent filing describes “An electronic device that wirelessly transfers power to an external device, comprising; wireless power transfer circuitry; and a dual-polarization dual-frequency patch antenna that is coupled to the wireless power transfer circuitry and that is configured to wirelessly transfer power from the wireless power transfer circuitry to the external device.”

What does that mean in English? Adding special circuitry to an electronic device that could not only receive data communications from something like a Wi-Fi router, but also power. While Apple’s rumored iPhone 8 will probably have some sort of “wireless charging,” it will most likely require contact with a base of some sort for inductive charging. If any products were to come out  of Cupertino based on this patent, they’d probably use an AirPort-type base station using beam steering (which the existing device does) to charge a device from a distance and simultaneously transmit and receive data.