Apple is unfairly profiting from any sales of its version of the adapter, particularly those bundled with portable Mac computers that require a battery
Um, what versions of the battery charger are bundled with computers without a battery?
Not wishing to cause offence or anything, but when it comes to patent law the US legal system really is a fucking mockery.
Seriously, I worked with him for 3-4 years until he left to work somewhere else. He is a big Apple fan and a great guy. I'll have to call him tomorrow.
With bated breath.....
Please let us know the outcome of the call, will ya? Thanks!
MY POWERBOOK G3 HAS HAD THOSE STATUS LIGHTS ANBD APPLE STARTED MAKING THE G3 POWER BOOK IN 1997 AND EVEN IF APPLE DIDN'T PATENT IT IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED PRIOR ART BECAUSE IT'S BEEN WIDLEY DEPLOYED OVER LAST 10 YEARS AND APPLE PROBABLY HAS THIS PATENTED OR I'M SURE ALL OF THE OTHER COMPANIES WOULD OF DONE IT ALL READY , I THINK THIS GUY JUST HAS HIS HEAD IN THE SAND AND CANT FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACTUALLY BRING HIS LACK OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY TO MARKET.
sorry about the caps but that shit pissed me off lol his 2004 patent
Don't now about the rest of you but I just looked over the orders I have made with Apple this year and not one of them has included my card info, starting with January (2006 is logged away).
MY POWERBOOK G3 HAS HAD THOSE STATUS LIGHTS ANBD APPLE STARTED MAKING THE G3 POWER BOOK IN 1997 AND EVEN IF APPLE DIDN'T PATENT IT IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED PRIOR ART BECAUSE IT'S BEEN WIDLEY DEPLOYED OVER LAST 10 YEARS AND APPLE PROBABLY HAS THIS PATENTED OR I'M SURE ALL OF THE OTHER COMPANIES WOULD OF DONE IT ALL READY , I THINK THIS GUY JUST HAS HIS HEAD IN THE SAND AND CANT FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACTUALLY BRING HIS LACK OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY TO MARKET.
sorry about the caps but that shit pissed me off lol his 2004 patent
The title of your post perfectly sums you up in a few words, please stop posting now, thanks.
Tom is an electrical engineer working in aerospace, automotive, and silicon chip design. He's a very bright guy and not a schmuck looking to patent any idea he comes across.
I guess ultimately the courts will have to decide if having the indicator on the end of the cord is a non-obvious idea compared to the indicator on the device. Battery chargers have had indicators for years. Batteries sometimes have charge indicators on themselves (as early as the Wallstreet & Pismo batteries up to the current ones).
Is a new location of something seen every day patentable?
I also noticed the suit was filed in Texas. Isn't Texas where all patents lawsuits are filed becuase they are known for being so liberal in awarding infringement requests?
Demonstration and review of the Full Charge battery recharger by Tom Harvey, Founder of Extend Computer & Instrument.
Tom's company, based in Walled Lake, MI, is an automotive supplier. They use Palms in their day to day work, and when the first Palm's came out they didn't like that they had to keep replacing batteries. So they made a rechargeable battery pack to replace the throwaway batteries that come with the Palm handhelds. There Full Charge product has some the following features:
Comes with a battery cover with holes for the charger
No cradle connector - keeps cost down
LED at end of plug to indicate charge status
Microprocessor knows when charge is complete so adapter doesn't get hot
Can still put Palm in cradle while charging
Their Full Charge product was released in Apr. 2000. They also now support Handspring handhelds, and they also have an auto adapter and an international adapter. They are working on a solar adapter and plan to release it in December 2001. They are working on a charger for the Palm m100.
We also got a good lesson in batteries, and whether it's OK to top off a charge on a battery or if you should always let the battery fully discharge before recharging. Extend Computer & Instruments chargers are all "smart chargers" so you can top off every day. In fact Tom recommends doing this for all NimH or Lithium Ion batteries. The older nickel cadmium batteries (still on some models of cordless phones) are "dumb chargers"; you're better off letting them fully discharge before recharging.
The Full Charge product retails for $34.95
His company, Extend Computer & Instrument, no longer has a valid website or domain. However, you can see what his site looked like through the WebArchive. The last entry in Oct 2005 basically says they are shutting down.
I think he used to live in Walled Lake. It's at least very close to Novi, MI. It's definitely him.
Zito filed his patents in April 2002. His lawsuit erroneously claims the patents were filed in April 2001, but check the text and images of his applications on-line at the USPTO and you'll see it was April 2002.
NThe Titanium PowerBook G4 was announced at Macworld San Francisco in January 2001, and it shipped with an LED power adapter. The 2nd generation iBook (white) also came with this type of power adapter. See http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp=1453305 for a description of the adapter, which includes the text "Colored status LEDs, located in the head of the DC-connector that plugs into your Apple portable, indicate charging status. An amber ring lets you know that your portable is charging, while a green ring tells you that you have a full charge." The name for this device is "Portable Power (AC) Adapter for Titanium PowerBook/2001 iBook (roll-up power cord)", which confirms Apple was selling this type of adapter in 2001, with prior art that no doubt dates at least as far back as 2000.
Careful, the original TiBooks did not ship with those adapters at first, they had the Yo-Yo adapter. But the newer adapters came out in the next revision, still well prior to 2004.
So I used to think class-action lawsuits were stupid, and that they were really about greedy consumers who want money. But I'm a resident of florida who just bought like 3 apple products....so this one isn't all that bad. In fact, it's great! If you give me $3000, i'll go buy an imac too!
I wonder if anyone has patented ceilings with lights on them? I'm going to, and then I'm going to sue everyone who sells ceilings that use lights to light rooms. Empty your bank account now, boys.
I myself designed an electronic device while in school and a central part of this device was the abiity to turn it off or on by a dedicated user interface control that i called the "on and off switch" which was essentially a round "button" that you press with your finger.
The title of your post perfectly sums you up in a few words, please stop posting now, thanks.
More truer words have never been spoken. My eyes glaze over post with all caps. No one reads them, and no one should.
Both lawsuits are silly, and will be back page news if anything in a week. What happened to personal responsibility anyway? Not only should you be keeping your receipts for later use (even though they are usually not needed for Apple products, thankfully), but if you don't want someone seeing them, destroy them! My goodness...
Please let us know the outcome of the call, will ya? Thanks!
The outcome is what I expected. He cannot comment on it, but it is him. No, I won't give you his email or phone so you can annoy him. I have a lot of respect for the guy.
He invented a charger that stops charging NiCad batteries when full and charges them when installed on the Palm. He put the indicator on the charger end because the Palm device did not have such an indicator the the other end could be plugged into the wall and hidden under the desk.
The question is "Is this a valid patent". I don't know. I haven't read the patent. Charging indicators exist on many devices that come with adapters and are rechargeable. Does putting it on the end of the cord make it patentable? Maybe.
As for the "receipt" lawsuit, if Apple is in violation of the law, let the government deal with it. Suing them because of increased "risk" seems like it would be hard to put a dollar amount on it.
Careful, the original TiBooks did not ship with those adapters at first, they had the Yo-Yo adapter. But the newer adapters came out in the next revision, still well prior to 2004.
did the yo yo adapters have two models? because the one on my iBook clamshell had the charging indicator
The LED wasn't on the end of the plug, it was in the receptacle on the iBook.
You're right. Regardless, there has to be some statute of limitations for this. Suing someone after that long is ridiculous. They're just trying to milk it for all it's worth.
Comments
It's cool to sue and all the cool kids sue Apple.
Apple should use this to their advantage and help with their image... they can turn it into a product:
iSue?
iSue Pro?
iSue You?
Better yet, they can get together with Youtube and form a new partnership around this new image:
iSueYouTube?
Sebastian
And let's not forget that system sound found in OS X and most earlier versions of Mac OS...
Sosumi
Apple is unfairly profiting from any sales of its version of the adapter, particularly those bundled with portable Mac computers that require a battery
Um, what versions of the battery charger are bundled with computers without a battery?
Not wishing to cause offence or anything, but when it comes to patent law the US legal system really is a fucking mockery.
WTF is USPTO doing? Just signing off on every application that crosses their desks?
Now, that is the most sensible comment I have heard all day!
OMFG! I know this guy!
Seriously, I worked with him for 3-4 years until he left to work somewhere else. He is a big Apple fan and a great guy. I'll have to call him tomorrow.
With bated breath.....
Please let us know the outcome of the call, will ya? Thanks!
sorry about the caps but that shit pissed me off lol his 2004 patent
This is just a suit to make the stocks fall.
MY POWERBOOK G3 HAS HAD THOSE STATUS LIGHTS ANBD APPLE STARTED MAKING THE G3 POWER BOOK IN 1997 AND EVEN IF APPLE DIDN'T PATENT IT IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED PRIOR ART BECAUSE IT'S BEEN WIDLEY DEPLOYED OVER LAST 10 YEARS AND APPLE PROBABLY HAS THIS PATENTED OR I'M SURE ALL OF THE OTHER COMPANIES WOULD OF DONE IT ALL READY , I THINK THIS GUY JUST HAS HIS HEAD IN THE SAND AND CANT FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACTUALLY BRING HIS LACK OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY TO MARKET.
sorry about the caps but that shit pissed me off lol his 2004 patent
The title of your post perfectly sums you up in a few words, please stop posting now, thanks.
I guess ultimately the courts will have to decide if having the indicator on the end of the cord is a non-obvious idea compared to the indicator on the device. Battery chargers have had indicators for years. Batteries sometimes have charge indicators on themselves (as early as the Wallstreet & Pismo batteries up to the current ones).
Is a new location of something seen every day patentable?
I also noticed the suit was filed in Texas. Isn't Texas where all patents lawsuits are filed becuase they are known for being so liberal in awarding infringement requests?
Email sent. I'm looking for his number.
Here's more info about his Palm Charger unit:
Demonstration and review of the Full Charge battery recharger by Tom Harvey, Founder of Extend Computer & Instrument.
Tom's company, based in Walled Lake, MI, is an automotive supplier. They use Palms in their day to day work, and when the first Palm's came out they didn't like that they had to keep replacing batteries. So they made a rechargeable battery pack to replace the throwaway batteries that come with the Palm handhelds. There Full Charge product has some the following features:
Comes with a battery cover with holes for the charger
No cradle connector - keeps cost down
LED at end of plug to indicate charge status
Microprocessor knows when charge is complete so adapter doesn't get hot
Can still put Palm in cradle while charging
Their Full Charge product was released in Apr. 2000. They also now support Handspring handhelds, and they also have an auto adapter and an international adapter. They are working on a solar adapter and plan to release it in December 2001. They are working on a charger for the Palm m100.
We also got a good lesson in batteries, and whether it's OK to top off a charge on a battery or if you should always let the battery fully discharge before recharging. Extend Computer & Instruments chargers are all "smart chargers" so you can top off every day. In fact Tom recommends doing this for all NimH or Lithium Ion batteries. The older nickel cadmium batteries (still on some models of cordless phones) are "dumb chargers"; you're better off letting them fully discharge before recharging.
The Full Charge product retails for $34.95
His company, Extend Computer & Instrument, no longer has a valid website or domain. However, you can see what his site looked like through the WebArchive. The last entry in Oct 2005 basically says they are shutting down.
I think he used to live in Walled Lake. It's at least very close to Novi, MI. It's definitely him.
Zito filed his patents in April 2002. His lawsuit erroneously claims the patents were filed in April 2001, but check the text and images of his applications on-line at the USPTO and you'll see it was April 2002.
NThe Titanium PowerBook G4 was announced at Macworld San Francisco in January 2001, and it shipped with an LED power adapter. The 2nd generation iBook (white) also came with this type of power adapter. See http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp=1453305 for a description of the adapter, which includes the text "Colored status LEDs, located in the head of the DC-connector that plugs into your Apple portable, indicate charging status. An amber ring lets you know that your portable is charging, while a green ring tells you that you have a full charge." The name for this device is "Portable Power (AC) Adapter for Titanium PowerBook/2001 iBook (roll-up power cord)", which confirms Apple was selling this type of adapter in 2001, with prior art that no doubt dates at least as far back as 2000.
Careful, the original TiBooks did not ship with those adapters at first, they had the Yo-Yo adapter. But the newer adapters came out in the next revision, still well prior to 2004.
I wonder if anyone has patented ceilings with lights on them? I'm going to, and then I'm going to sue everyone who sells ceilings that use lights to light rooms. Empty your bank account now, boys.
I myself designed an electronic device while in school and a central part of this device was the abiity to turn it off or on by a dedicated user interface control that i called the "on and off switch" which was essentially a round "button" that you press with your finger.
The title of your post perfectly sums you up in a few words, please stop posting now, thanks.
More truer words have never been spoken. My eyes glaze over post with all caps. No one reads them, and no one should.
Both lawsuits are silly, and will be back page news if anything in a week. What happened to personal responsibility anyway? Not only should you be keeping your receipts for later use (even though they are usually not needed for Apple products, thankfully), but if you don't want someone seeing them, destroy them! My goodness...
With bated breath.....
Please let us know the outcome of the call, will ya? Thanks!
The outcome is what I expected. He cannot comment on it, but it is him. No, I won't give you his email or phone so you can annoy him. I have a lot of respect for the guy.
He invented a charger that stops charging NiCad batteries when full and charges them when installed on the Palm. He put the indicator on the charger end because the Palm device did not have such an indicator the the other end could be plugged into the wall and hidden under the desk.
The question is "Is this a valid patent". I don't know. I haven't read the patent. Charging indicators exist on many devices that come with adapters and are rechargeable. Does putting it on the end of the cord make it patentable? Maybe.
As for the "receipt" lawsuit, if Apple is in violation of the law, let the government deal with it. Suing them because of increased "risk" seems like it would be hard to put a dollar amount on it.
What the hell is this power adaptor stuff? Apple has had those for a LONG time now, certainly before 2004.
i don't know for how long they've had that, but i know the iBook clamshell had that feature and it came out in 1999
Careful, the original TiBooks did not ship with those adapters at first, they had the Yo-Yo adapter. But the newer adapters came out in the next revision, still well prior to 2004.
did the yo yo adapters have two models? because the one on my iBook clamshell had the charging indicator
where have you been? The USPTO has been signing anything submitted to them for the past 20 some odd years.
did the yo yo adapters have two models? because the one on my iBook clamshell had the charging indicator
The LED wasn't on the end of the plug, it was in the receptacle on the iBook.
The LED wasn't on the end of the plug, it was in the receptacle on the iBook.
You're right. Regardless, there has to be some statute of limitations for this. Suing someone after that long is ridiculous. They're just trying to milk it for all it's worth.