The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today published 48 of Apple’s latest patents, one of which—a particularly interesting one—caught the attention of the foreign media outlet PatentlyApple. The patent is titled “Apple brings us the smartbicycle,” and PatentlyApple points out that Apple has never before obtained a patent similar to one related to bicycles.
Apple’s patent is actually quite similar to the company’s Nike + iPod system, but this one is tailored for cyclists. This smart bicycle system can be used individually or among teams. According to Apple’s patent description, the system is capable of monitoring speed, distance traveled, time, altitude, uphill and downhill gradients, the cyclist’s heart rate, gear settings on the bicycle, cadence, wind speed, displaying completed routes, displaying upcoming routes, and more. Additionally, among team members, cyclists can connect with each other to share road condition information and other details.
This smart bicycle system requires the use of many different sensors, some of which are built into the iPhone, and some are placed on thebicycle. Apple’s patent filing indicates that the inventors of this system are Jesse Dorogusker, Anthony Fadell, Andrew Hodge, Allen Haughay Jr., Scott Krueger, James Mason, Donald Novotney, Emily Schubert, Policarpo Wood, and Timothy Johnson.