A couple of days ago, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a bunch of new patents. The new report from tech site Patently Apple describes patents covering various aspects of Apple products including design, the localisation app, MacBook speakers, security features and many more.

Among the 37 new patents, Apple was granted five design patents. The set consisted of "Cinema Display, iPod Shuffle retail packaging, MacBook Air Reinstall Drive, a battery related design and an interface design related to the iPod nano," explained the site.

In addition to appearance, Apple also focused on functionality. The iPhone 4 could get some antenna improvements, as this was a painful matter when the device was first released.

The patent is relating to an antenna for handheld electronic devices with conductive bezels. "The bezel may be formed from stainless steel or other suitable conductive materials. A ground plane element in the housing may serve as antenna ground," said the patent description.

Other patents that Apple won related to software features. One of them focused on the devices' security and detail techniques for validating and sharing, whilst another patent described services for handling notifications.

Source: PatentlyApple