“Apple on Tuesday won the patent rights to ‘microslot antenna’ technology that allows micron-wide antenna assets to be integrated into the housing of a portable device, such as an iPhone, making them nearly invisible to the human eye,” Mikey Campbell reports for AppleInsider.

“Apple’s U.S. Patent No. 8,373,610 for ‘Microslot antennas for electronic devices,’ granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, could drastically cut down on the size of at least one component needed to create products like the iPhone,” Campbell reports. “While the patent refers to implementations in a laptop computer, the antenna tech can be used in other portable electronics like smartphones and tablets. “

Campbell reports, “As for the size of the microslots, the patent language states that the widths of the slots are usually significantly less than their lengths. For example, widths can range from microns to hundreds of microns, while a microslot’s length can be on the order of millimeters or centimeters.”

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