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Yesterday The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published the filing of another Apple's patent entitled "Touch Screen RFID Tag Reader ^[3]". It describes "the efficient incorporation of RFID circuitry with touch sensor panel circuitry".

How does it work? RFID ^[4] (Radio-frequency identification) is a technology that uses communication through the use of radio waves to exchange data between a transponder and an electronic tag attached to an object, for the purpose of identification and tracking. In its patent Apple describes a method that allows making a touch screen panel work as an RFID transponder and thus eliminating the necessity of adding "space-consuming RFID antenna".

Instead of creating a separate metal layer loops for RFID antenna it may be formed of "metal on the same layer as metal traces form in the borders of a substrate".

This is not a first Apple's patent that mentions RFID technology. Previous documents clearly show Apple is going to add RFID tag readers into its next-gen iDevices, and "ID App" will allow users utilize the technology, sense and connect to surrounding WiFi networks and gain more information about the objects with built-in RFID tag.

Last year many publications suggested the iPhone 4 could get a RFID support, but that didn't happen. Maybe the next-gen iPhone will implement the technology, described in this patent?

The patent is authored by Steve Porter Hotelling and Michael Nathaniel Rosenblatt.