Vizio Lands US Design Patent for Nondescript 'Audio Device,' PTO Records Show

Vizio landed the assignment Tuesday of a U.S. design patent (D748,075) for an undescribed “audio device,” Patent and Trademark Office documents show. The patent, which was applied for in August 2014, lists Scott McManigal, Vizio vice president-design, as the inventor. A series of six drawings in the patent depicts a rectangular box with an HDMI input and appears to show speakers at either end and three buttons at the top. To us, the renderings appear to be those of a soundbar, or perhaps a Bluetooth speaker that can also be used as a soundbar. Vizio representatives didn’t comment.