There are a couple of new patents and patent applications popping up today. First, we look at a new patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and detailed by PatentlyApple; it shows Apple’s work on inductive charging docks. Phil Schiller might not be a big fan of wireless charging, but Apple is clearly working on possible solutions. Apple’s charging dock could initiate different functions, such as charging, syncing, or transfer data between devices, depending on the device’s orientation while on the docking surface. It might also include an intelligent sidebar consisting of a display, UI, sensors, or other components for controlling the docking station:

Another patent application discovered today by UnwiredView walks through a few inventions that Apple could be considering for future mobile devices. Most of which we have heard about in the past, but we get an even closer look today at Apple’s work with flexible displays, tactile feedback, laser microphones and modified components that would come as a result:

PatentlyApple also covered another new Apple patent today that details a method of providing contextual information for Apple TV content to mobile devices and potentially integrated with cable providers.