Yesterday, Patently Apple released a report titled "Apple won a patent, revealing a possible future all-glass iPhone, allowing images on the front and back, and all-glass Mac Pro Tower." The patent also covers the possibility of an all-glass Apple Watch in the future. "Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple. The patent application relates to the future Apple Watch. Its casing may include a glass casing device defined by multiple sides. The watch will provide graphic output through the side wall as a control and so on. The watch will also have a series of advanced biometric and health sensors.

Traditionally, glass has been used in such devices to provide a transparent window on the touch screen on the front of the device. The patent goes a step further, in which the Apple Watch case will use glass to define the front surface of the case and multiple side outer surfaces.

For example, the case of the future Apple Watch may include a glass case similar to a five-sided box that can be installed (and connected to) a chassis or frame component. The glass case may have a front glass wall defining the front surface of the watch, and a plurality of side walls, each side wall extending away from the front wall and each corresponding side wall defining at least a portion of a corresponding side surface of the case.

This new configuration will allow a large amount of mechanical overlap between the chassis and the glass enclosure, so it can increase the strength of the mechanical coupling between the glass enclosure and the chassis.

In addition, by forming the side walls of the watch entirely or essentially entirely of glass, additional functional and aesthetic benefits are achieved.

For example, the display can be positioned adjacent to the side wall to display graphical output on the side wall (or through the side wall). Sensors such as touch sensors, biometric sensors, etc. may utilize the transparent and/or dielectric properties of the glass sidewall to sense or detect input applied to the sidewall.

Apple's patent map. Figure 1A below is an example of an Apple Watch with a glass case. According to Apple, case #104 can be formed of glass and can be called a glass case. Where the outer shell is formed of glass, it may be formed of any suitable glass, and may be strengthened, tempered, or processed in any other suitable manner to provide the target strength, toughness, scratch resistance, appearance, or other characteristics.

Exemplary glass compositions may include, but are not limited to, soda lime glass, aluminosilicate glass, borosilicate glass, glass ceramics, and the like. The glass material can be chemically strengthened (for example, by ion exchange baths or other techniques), annealed, tempered, or treated using other techniques. The housing 104 may also include one or more coatings, such as an oleophobic coating, an anti-reflective coating, an anti-scratch coating, or any other suitable coatings, films, layers, etc.

The glass shell can be formed using any suitable technique. For example, the housing can be processed from a single piece of glass. As another example, the shell can be formed by collapsing and/or molding a piece of glass. As yet another example, the housing 104 may be formed by attaching multiple pieces of glass together.

Apple's patented fig. Figures 4C-4D above illustrate watch #400, in which the graphic output is displayed by the side part of the display through the side wall. It is worth noting that the display can generate various types of graphic output on the side of the device, and can dynamically change or change the graphic output according to the time of day, the active application of the watch, the wearer’s current activity and other factors (for example, exercise , Listening to music, watching video media, sleeping, working, running, swimming, etc.), or any other suitable factors.

 In addition, the watch may include a touch sensing system, a force sensing system, or other types of sensing systems that can detect input applied to the front wall and/or side wall of the watch (eg, touch input applied by a user). Therefore, the graphical output displayed on the side of the watch can be buttons, sliders, or other revelations.

Patent drawing. Fig. 4D illustrates the watch, and the second set of graphic output is displayed on the side display area #425 of the watch. For example, the graphical output in Figure 1. FIG. 4D may include a start button #428 and a stop button #430. The watch can transition from the first set of graphical outputs (for example, those shown in Figure 4C or any other graphical output or even a blank side display area) to the second set of graphical outputs when the application is activated and activity is detected. Or similar. For example, the start and stop buttons #428, #430 can control a stopwatch or other fitness tracker, or it can control music or other media playback.

The button shown in the picture. Figures 4C-4D are just examples of buttons, revelations, images, or other graphical output that can be displayed on the side display area of ​​the watch. Depending on user settings, the watch and/or the user's detection conditions, or based on other factors or trigger events, other types of graphic output may be displayed on the side display area of ​​the watch.

Finally, Apple Watch may include temperature sensors, biometric sensors (for example, fingerprint sensors, photoplethysmographs, blood oxygen sensors, blood glucose sensors, ECG sensors, etc.), eye tracking sensors, retinal scanners, humidity sensors, buttons, switches, etc. .

For more details, please see Apple's patent application number 20210353226. Considering that this is a patent application, it is not yet clear when this type of product will be on the market.

Posted by Jack Purcher on November 18, 2021 at 03:57 AM in 1A. Patent applications, Apple Watch, smart bracelets and wearable devices | Permalink | Comments (0)

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