Two of Apple’s recent patent applications suggest Apple may want to shrink the size of cable connectors while combining different kinds of signals into the same cable, reducing desktop clutter.

Applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for smaller male and female connectors, filed September 29, describe how they would be used, with emphasis on connectors carrying DisplayPort, graphics signals, alongside USB 3.0 data signals.

The applications provide some background on why Apple would want to work on such an advancement.

"Electronic devices such as media players and related devices have become ubiquitous over the past several years. As they have proliferated, the types and styles of electronic devices have diversified," both applications say. "During this time, a theme has been that consumers want more functionality packed into an ever-decreasing form factor."

The patent applications aren’t for a specific connection standard. They say some connectors could have smaller height, or smaller width, or both, and that male connectors could have movable doors to protect the contacts. Drawings accompanying the applications depict different ways of making the connectors smaller.

The applications also say the connectors could be used on both hand-held devices and laptop and desktop computers. They don’t appear to be for a specific standard way of using the pins on a smaller connector. Rather, they list a handful of varying pinouts.

Three 30-pin configurations described would allow for various combinations of DisplayPort and USB. A single-channel DisplayPort configuration also does USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Composite video, USB power, and left and right channels of Line audio, and communicates with the iPod. A double-channel DisplayPort version does the same, but ditches the line audio and composite video. A quad-channel DisplayPort connector is also described.

Additionatelly, there are also descriptions for two more connectors, one with 18 pins and one with 11. The 18-pin connector suppports USB 2.0, line audio and dual-channel DisplayPort. The 11-pin connector also supports USB 2.0, line audio and composite video, and can use two optional optical links for digital audio and video.

It’s not clear what all of the different cable connectors are for, but a good guess is that by combining USB 3 and DisplayPort in the same cable, Apple hopes to reduce the number of cables needed to connect all kinds of devices, and that they want to do it with smaller connectors on the cables.

As is usually the case with patent applications, the included drawings are "shown for illustrative purposes only" and don’t "limit either the possible embodiments of the present invention." But that doesn’t mean the drawings aren’t fun to look at.

The applications say the descriptions of possible uses of the small connectors are "presented for the purposes of illustration and description," and aren’t exhaustive. It can still be fun to look at the pictures.

The image at the top of the article demonstrates how the shape of the connectors act as a key to prevent the male connector, at right, from being inserted upside down into the female connector.

Figure 11, below, is a 30-pin male plug with reduced height. Notice the staggered contact locations.

Figure 10 has perspective and front views of a 30-pin female connector that has a reduced height, because it has no tongue.

Figure 3a is a perspective view of another 30-pin female connector, this one with a tongue. The description says it can carry multiple high-speed data signals.

Via AppleInsider