Car Patent Just One Of Apple's Large Patent Haul On Monday

Patently Apple reported on Tuesday that Apple Inc. AAPL was recently granted 53 patents that cover many aspects of the company's businesses. One patent however stood out as it clearly relates to usage in a car. Patent 9,264,862 was granted to Apple for "determining exit from a vehicle." A brief summary of the patent states: "Embodiments of the present invention can provide methods and mobile devices for determining an exit from a vehicle. Sensors of a mobile device can be used to determine when the user is in a vehicle that is driving. The same or different sensors can be used to identify a disturbance (e.g., loss of communication connection from mobile device to a car computer). After the disturbance, an exit confidence score can be determined at various times, and compared to a threshold. A determination of the exit of the user can be determined based on the comparison of the exit confidence score to the threshold." Apple's latest patent does not confirm the company is actively developing an electric vehicle, as has been widely speculated over the past few years. When coupled with other reports, such as