Macsimumnews reports the following:

On June 22, the US Patent & Trademark Office revealed a patent application titled “Incorporating a portable digital music player into a vehicle audio system.”

The patent inventor is noted as Jesse Ellenbogen. The Apple HI Alumni directory web page lists alumni (present and future) of the Apple HI (Human Interface) Community.

Jesse Ellenbogen is listed as working with Apple on “ATG HIG intern ‘92, Newton & PowerBook usability testing ‘93, eWorld ‘94-’95. It also lists Jesse Ellenbogen as now leading DashJack – an iPod/car integration startup.

The present invention relates to the field of portable digital music players and the use of these devices in a vehicle. The patent contains verbiage and patent Figures, clearly denoting Apple Computer and the iPod.

Read more about the patent and see more figures here.