Apple has recently been on a patent filing spree, with the latest being a case that can alert users if their iPhone has been placed properly atop a service or not, ensuring that their precious and expensive devices do not slip or fall unfavourably. The company seems to want to make their already durable phones all the more protected with their latest patent filing.
Patent application for the smart iPhone case was made with the US Patent & Trademark Office (photo credit: Patently Apple)
According to a report by Patently Apple, the case consists of two parts – one to protect the touch interface of the iPhone as well as a rear case that is electronically also connected to the phone. The case will offer feedback to the user to guide as to how the case should be correctly fitted on the iPhone. The case can completely encase the iPhone and is made of a bunch of materials such as silicone or leather, as well as plastic.
The case will consist of its own detection module, in the form of a solid-state proximity module, Hall Effect or photoelectric sensor to communicate feedback to and from the phone. In one of the images of the patent to describe the product, there is a screw-like latch found on the back of the case that could possibly be used to securely latch the case onto the device using a screw driver. Digital Trends also reports that the case will consist of a small memory circuit as well as a processor circuit that will work in conjunction to properly distinguish the positioning mechanism of the case.
This kind of a patent shows off exactly how Apple plans on dealing with their forthcoming accessories. We could also expect a completely water-proof solution as well. Aesthetics do not seem to be the priority here, but rather functionality is the demand for the day. Knowing Apple’s design language, there are a number of ways in which the company can provide for a clean and sophisticated product when the final unit is prepared. This kind of case has not been thought of by other case manufacturers before and gives a bit of insight as to what a phone case can really do to a phone and how it can help users not just prolong the durability of the phone, but also offer feedback and provide certain functions that the phone itself cannot.
The details about the case estimate a very complex sort of technology being invented with mix of numerous electrical and non-electrical bits, so we can expect a proprietary design that most-likely won’t be accessible to other manufacturers outside of Apple, if released. We’ll only really be impressed when Apple decides to make a case with a headphone jack in it. We will have to keep waiting on that one though.
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