“Just as the auto industry is racing to find the perfect electric engine, the tech sector is in a similar race to find a better battery or a new energy source to extend the life of portable devices,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple. “Being that Apple is the leading mobile devices company in the world today, they know all too well how important a breakthrough in this field may be. In today’s patent we see that Apple is exploring ways of building a miniature electromagnetic induction system right into future portable devices as a means of extending battery life.”

Purcher reports, “Apple’s patent is all about systems for harnessing power through electromagnetic induction utilizing printed coils. A system could include one or more moveable magnets adjacent to printed coils on a circuit. For example, a system could include one or more magnets that are operative to move alongside a circuit board that includes printed coils. The one or more magnets may move, for example, when a user shakes the system or when the user walks or runs while holding the device. The movement of the one or more magnets may create an electromotive force (e.g., a voltage) across the printed coils, and this force may be used to generate electric power.”

More in the full article, including Apple’s patent application illustrations, here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Dow C." for the heads up.]