“We are going to patent it all,” Apple co-founder Steve Jobs reportedly told his team in 2006, according to Fred Vogelstein’s book “Dogfight.”
Since then, Apple’s policy on intellectual property has been exactly that: Patent everything, even if it doesn’t make it to a final product.
Apple is constantly filing patents — and defending them, too— but since many of Apple’s patented ideas don’t see the light of day, we thought it’d be fun to take a look at some of the company’s unique innovations — particularly the ones we’d like to see in a future product or two.
Big shout-out to PatentlyApple and the U.S. Patent And Trademark Office for letting us use the patent images in this story.
Tactile Display Technology
Imagine you could use your device without looking at it. That’s the idea behind Apple’s advanced tactile display technology, which the company patented back in May 2012.
Using an OLED screen and several sensors and actuators working simultaneously, Apple’s sophisticated multi-tiered system relies on several layers of elastic screens layered on top of each other that can create 3D buttons or objects, or give images like topographical maps a textural feel, whenever a program or application calls for it. This system can also react to one’s physical touch and distinguish between light and heavy contact with the screen’s surface.
Crack-Proof Glass
People drop their phones all the time — now if only Apple followed through on this patent.
Granted in November 2011, Apple's patent for crack-resistant glass involves chemically treating the same alumino silicate glass solution used in the iPhone 4 and 4S with potassium and sodium ions, which helps the glass achieve greater compression thresholds on its surface and edges, thus making it less susceptible to cracking.
The patent also includes a nifty feature that calls for a shock mount placed between the glass and the device’s metal housing, which instantly inflates and sucks in the cover glass if the device’s internal accelerometer senses it’s falling, thus protecting it from damage.
The iWallet
Though Apple is currently expanding its Touch ID technology to allow for easy purchases on your iPhone 5S (and beyond), Apple actually designed a complete digital system that allows users to control their financial accounts and transactions directly on their iPhones.
The patent for the “iWallet,” which was granted to Apple back in March 2012, can also let users easily see their entire credit card profiles and view statements and messages from their banks. And if a child owns an iPhone, Apple created parental controls so they can set spending limits on their children and even request authorization from the parent via their own device.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider