The European Parliament has ruled companies such as Apple must use the common micro-USB port on their devices, and coincidentally, the iPhone company has a new patent focused on the subject.

European politicians have discussed ways to reduce the number of different chargers used on devices, such as smartphones, to just one type of charger. According to the BBC, European Member States have until 2016 to accept the regulation to national laws. Once accepted into national law, manufacturers have up to 12 months to switch to the one common charger.

"The current incompatibility of chargers is a nightmare and a real inconvenience for consumers," said European Parliament negotiator Barbara Weiler in a statement. This new directive ends this nightmare and is also good news for the environment as it will result in a reduction of electronic waste."

The measure replaces a previous directive by the European Parliament in 1999, known as the "R&TTE Directive," on radio and telecommunications terminal equipment.

"Today's vote sets the basis for further innovation and growth in the area of mobile communications," said European Commission's Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Vice President Antonio Tajani. "The sector continues to show enormous potential. Reliable and fast wireless communications are essential to the on-going revolution in manufacturing, services, education, entertainment and practically all spheres of life. And there is more: the new rules enable us to introduce a common charger for mobile phones and similar devices. This is very good news for our citizens and for the environment."

Apple hasn't commented on the European Parliament's ruling.

Coincidentally, the United States Patent and Trademark Office approved an Apple patent titled "Dock Connector with Compliance Mechanism."

The patent acknowledges a docking station, or connector, that can be "configured to provide sufficient rigidity to the connector to support a portable device when mounted on the connector within the dock in an upright position, sufficient flexibility to allow angular displacement of a mounted portable device, and sufficient elasticity to provide a resilient biasing force to return the connector and a mounted portable device from a displaced position to the upright position."

The docking station provides flexible opportunity for devices than "conventional" dock connectors. According to the patent, the connector can reduce the chances of a device sliding, rotating, rolling, or pivoting.

Originally filed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 8, 2013, the patent credits Michael Webb, Ian Colahan, and Paul Thompson as inventors of the "Dock Connector with Compliance Mechanism."

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