Four Apple patents have appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office that show Apple is working make sure future Macs and other devices run even cooler.

Patent number 2010051243 is for methods and an apparatus for cooling electronic devices using flow sensors. Per the patent, an electronic device can be provided with a housing having at least one wall defining a cavity and a flow sensor at least partially contained within the cavity. The flow sensor may be configured to detect a flow characteristic related to the flow of a fluid through a first portion of the cavity. The electronic device may also include a processor configured to alter a performance characteristic of the electronic device based on the detected flow characteristic. The inventors are Ihab A. Ali and Frank Liang.

Patent number 2010053883 involves methods and an apparatus for cooling electronic devices through user interfaces. Per the patent an electronic device can be provided with a user interface component and a cooling component contained within a housing. The housing may include at least one surface having an opening formed therethrough, and the user interface may include one port formed therethrough. The user interface port may provide at least a first portion of a passageway between the housing opening and the cooling component. The passageway may allow fluids to be exchanged between the cooling component and the housing opening for cooling the electronic device. The inventors are Ihab A. Ali and Bernard K. Rihn.

Patent number 20010053885 is for methods and an apparatus for cooling electronic devices using conductive hinge assemblies. An electronic device can be provided with a first housing at least partially containing a first electronic component, a second housing, and a hinge assembly coupled to the first housing and the second housing. The hinge assembly may be configured to dissipate heat generated by the first electronic component away from the first housing. In some embodiments, the hinge assembly may be configured to dissipate heat generated by the first electronic component away from the first housing and on to the second housing. The second housing may include a heat spreader for dissipating the heat from the hinge assembly throughout the second housing. The inventor is Ihad A. Ali.

Patent number 2010050658 is for methods and an apparatus for cooling electronic devices using thermoelectric cooling components. An electronic device can be provided with a heat-generating component, a heat-dissipating component, and a thermoelectric cooling component. The thermoelectric cooling component may be configured to create a temperature difference between the heat-generating component and the heat-dissipating component. In some embodiments, the thermoelectric cooling component is configured to use the Peltier effect to create the temperature difference. In some embodiments, the thermoelectric cooling component may be positioned proximate to a hotspot of the heat-generating component.The inventor is Ihab A. Ali.