Several Apple patents have appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.

Patent number 20100332124 involves analyzing and consolidating track file data. Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, are disclosed for track simplification and correction. In one aspect, a track data set having track points defining a course can be accessed and inaccurate track points and incorrect track points can be identified, wherein identifying inaccurate track points includes comparing, for one or more of the track points, a dilution of precision (DOP) value associated with the track point to a DOP threshold, and identifying incorrect track points includes performing an error correction process.

Also, a corrected track can be generated by removing identified inaccurate track points and incorrect track points from the track data set. Further, identifying an inaccurate track point can include determining that the DOP value associated with the track point exceeds the DOP threshold. Additionally, the DOP threshold can be specified by user input. Nikhil Bhatt is the inventor.

Patent number 20100328323 is for a virtual graphics device driver. Systems and methods are disclosed to enable switching of graphics processing unit (GPU) resources based on different factors. Embodiments include a virtual graphics driver as an interface between GPU drivers and the applications or graphics framework executing on an electronic device. The virtual graphics driver may switch GPU resources from a first GPU to a second GPU by routing function calls to the first GPU or the second GPU.

The switching of GPU resources may be based on power management, system events such as hot-plug events, load management, user requests, any other factor, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, a virtual frame buffer driver is provided that interfaces with the frame buffer of the GPU and provides a virtual view of the frame buffer to manage additional system application programming interfaces (APIs) during the switch. The inventors are David J. Redman, Changki Min, Philip J. Churchill, Adrian T. Sheppard, David A. Leech, Unmesh Sahasrabuddhe, Ian Hendry and Eve Brasfield.

Patent number 20100328935 involves a multicolor lighting system. The patent is for a system for displaying multiple colors individually or in combination with one another. The system may emit red, green and blue light from light emitting diodes and may additionally provide white light to brighten the color provided by the red, green and blue light emitting diodes. The white light source may also be used to increase the power efficiency of the system, thus increasing the lifetime of the system for displaying multiple colors.

The white light source may be used to backlight the color provided by the red, green and blue light emitted by the light emitting diodes, or may also be used as an additional light source to the light provided by the red, green and blue light emitting diodes. The inventors are Aleksandar Pance, Duncan Kerr, Brett Bilbrey and Michael F. Culbert.

Patent number 20100328936 is for multicolor light emitting diodes. According to the patent, a device such as a multicolor light emitting diode that emits different colors of light and that may combine the different colors emitted by individual light emitting diodes. The multicolor LED may include a common anode terminal that may be connected to each anode of the individual light emitting diodes. The multicolor LED may be a five terminal multicolor LED. Additionally, the multicolor LED may include two anode terminals, in which the first anode terminal may be a common anode terminal connected to three of the individual color LEDs and the second anode terminal may be connected to an anode of a white LED. In this embodiment, the multicolor LED may be a six terminal multicolor LED. The inventors are Aleksandar Pance, Duncan Kerr, Brett Bilbrey and Michael F. Culbert.

Patent number 20100332741 involves interleaving policies for flash memory. Per the patent, articles and associated methods and systems relate to selecting read interleaving policies independently of selecting write interleaving policies. In various implementations, the selection may be static or dynamic during operation. In implementations that dynamically select read interleaving policies and write interleaving policies, the selection may be based on various operating conditions, such as temperature, power source, battery voltage, and operating mode. Examples of operating modes may include (1) reading or writing to flash memory when connected to an external power source, (2) reading from flash memory when powered by portable power source (e.g., battery), and (3) writing to flash memory when powered by a portable power source. The inventors are Michael J. Cornwell and Christopher P. Dudte.

-- Dennis Sellers