Microsoft's Surface tablet.
(Credit: Microsoft)
While Microsoft's Surface tablets may not be exactly clicking with consumers, some of its design elements have won the blessing of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The USPTO granted a trio of patents today for the touch/type cover keyboard design on Redmond's tablet, including its "ornamental design for an electronic tablet with input device coupling," as Microsoft described it in its patent application abstracts. Apparently thinking it was on to something big, Microsoft applied for patents covering its tablet's keyboard design last May, roughly a month before the mystery event that turned out to be the device's unveiling.
The cover presented one of the key challenges Microsoft faced in developing the tablet. It had to be thin but durable enough to protect the screen. The team behind the tablet ultimately decided on using a removable keyboard cover that could stick to the screen via a magnet.
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