Apple is exploring means of powering an iPad via a smart cover equipped with wireless charging technology, a patent filing suggests, according to Digital Spy.

The Cupertino firm has registered a filing for an 'Integrated Inductive Charging In Protective Cover' with the US Patent and Trademark Office, fuelling rumours of a move towards wireless charging.

The patent describes a method of using the tablet's cover, which will be equipped with inductive power coils and a battery, as a wireless charger that transfers juice to the device when the lid is closed.

Apple's filing reads: "The protective cover can include an inductive power transmitter that can take many forms such as inductive coils. The inductive coils can, in turn, receive power from an external power supply.

"In some cases, however, the protective cover can include an internal source of power such as a battery that can be used to store power that can subsequently be passed to the tablet device by way of the inductive power transfer circuit."

Users would still need to connect their iPad with a power source on occasion to power up the smart cover, but the idea of it potentially running on solar power is also under consideration, Apple Insider reports.

The news backs up recent reports from Taiwan that Apple is experimenting with wireless charging technology with a view to incorporating it into its flagship products.