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Oil smudges on the iPhone screen, we’ve all been there, haven’t we? Even after the inclusion of an oleophobic screen in all models since the 3GS, fingerprints on the screen never seem to go away.

In its latest patent filing, Apple details another solution to battle greasy fingers. The solution involves applying a coating of an oil resistant material that would bond with the screen in a special environment.

The present oleophobic coating on touchscreens included in the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2 are prone to gradual wear and tear due to humidity and heat. The Next Web describes the current method of applying an oleophobic coating on these devices as:

The method that Apple uses currently to apply the coating is placing a bunch of pellets of coating in a chamber with the glass then superheating the pellets, which vaporize and coat the glass.

Apple hopes to improve upon the shortcomings of this method by using a different technique of applying the oleophobic substance on the screen. Patently Apple describes this process as:

The oleophobic ingredient could be provided as part of a raw liquid material in one or more concentrations. To avoid adverse reactions due to exposure to air, heat, or humidity, the raw liquid material can be placed in a bottle purged with an inert gas during the manufacturing process.

The bottle could be placed in a liquid supply system having a mechanism for controlling the amount of raw liquid material that passes through the liquid supply system. Upon reaching the vaporizing unit, the liquid could be vaporized and the oleophobic ingredient within the liquid can then be deposited on the electronic device component surface. As the liquid supply is drained from the bottle, additional inert gas is supplied in its place to further prevent contamination.

The patent application was filed in February this year, so lets hope the iPhone 5 display comes with the improved oil resistant coating.

[via Patently Apple]

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Source: Future iPhone and iPad Displays May Be More Resistant To Fingerprints & Grease

A recently filed patent application by Apple reveals the company’s plans to integrate mini or pico-like projectors into its devices in the future.

There have been a number of indications in the past about this, the latest one being Apple’s registration of the domain Applepico.com, first reported by MacRumors.

According to the patent, these projectors are not just for displaying images, videos and text, but also for collaborating with other devices and creating shared workspaces. In simple language this means that two or more devices equipped with this projector would create a contiguous display with a possibility of interaction between the two devices via gestures.

The patent, published by the US Patent and Trademark Office on August 11th, is titled ”Projected Display Shared Workspaces”. It goes into extreme detail describing various components of the setup – the projector, cameras, RFID chips and GPS. Currently, the closest Apple devices have come to this idea is AirPlay, where pictures and video can be streamed over the air to large displays, of course through an Apple TV.

Projected displays would be great for viewing content that is too large to view on small screens. The projector, as described in the patent, in some cases would be internal while in case of other devices like MacBooks is shown as an external accessory. What excites us however is the capability of these devices to create a collaborative workspace and communicate with each other through gestures, RFID and GPS chips and wireless technology.

The mention of a camera, as you might have guessed, is for gesture recognition. The patent takes the example of image sharing between two devices and illustrates how gestures could be used to facilitate communication amongst devices. These gestures could be detected by a camera or a touchscreen. For instance, a flick could transfer an image from one projected display to another, clenching of the fist can serve as a command to copy an image or an object.

You might have seen how a physical object can obstruct light coming from a projector. Apple plans to use these shadows and silhouettes as additional ways to detect actions from a user or any external object for that matter. These shadows would be detected by a camera and interpreted by advanced image processing technology residing on the devices. One obvious use of this would be while giving presentations, where a simple sway of your hand could let you move onto the next slide.

The combination of a projector and camera isn’t new though, Pravin Mistry demonstrated something very similar at a TED Conference back in 2009.

The whole idea of the patent seems very futuristic, and it indeed is. Pico projectors are in its nascent stage, and according to DigiTimes’ manufacturing sources these projectors currently face problems such as large power consumption, weak lumen rate and poor image quality. This makes it an unlikely addition to iPhone models until 2013.

What’s your take on the patent? Kinect like gaming or gesture driven presentations?

[USPTO via Patently Apple]

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Patently Apple has discovered a new Apple patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently, which has revealed that Apple is working on next generation display technology that will allow users to steer display light beams in various directions to effectively provide themselves with a new privacy viewing option.

Patently Apple explains the problem Apple’s patent is trying to solve:

Many electronic devices include the ability to present visible information to a user. In particular, many cellular telephones, laptop computers, and other portable electronic devices include a display screen for projecting light beams representative of device generated information to one or more viewers. Often, a user of the device may choose to share this displayed information with others looking at the device from various angles with respect to the screen, while, in other situations, the user may only want a person positioned directly in front of the screen to be able to see the displayed information. However, due to processing limitations, display limitations, size limitations, and other limitations of such electronic devices, a user must generally shield the display screen away from unintended viewers or aim the display screen towards only an intended viewer.

Patently Apple goes on to explain how Apple intends to solve the problem:

The main focus of Apple’s patent appears to be about a method of controlling the viewing angle of a display so that a user could implement a unique privacy type of function that restricts viewing of the display to only the one looking at the display directly in front of it.

Though Apple has used an iPod Classic in the patent, it has clarified that the technology could be used in the following devices:

“A music player, video player, still image player, game player, other media player, music recorder, movie or video camera or recorder, still camera, other media recorder, radio, medical equipment, domestic appliance,transportation vehicle instrument, musical instrument, calculator, cellular telephone, other wireless communication device, personal digital assistant, remote control, pager, computer (e.g., desktop, laptop, tablet, server, etc.), monitor, television, stereo equipment, set up box, set-top box, boom box, modem, router, keyboard, mouse, speaker, printer,” and any device that could use telephonic services.”

Apple’s patent goes on to explain that the privacy mode can be enabled by touching the corner of the screen, which would bring up privacy mode options and ability to change the angle of the display.

Do you want this privacy mode viewing option in the next generation iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Apple Patent Reveals Privacy Mode Viewing Option For Next Generation Displays

Folks at AppleInsider have discovered an Apple patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this week, which reveals that Apple is working on ways to increase the capacity of rechargeable lithium batteries used in iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, MacBooks etc.

The patent titled “Increasing Energy Density in Rechargeable Lithium Battery Cells” describes charging a battery using a “multi-step constant-current constant-voltage (CC-CV) charging technique.”

AppleInsider explains:

The CC-CV charging technique would allow the thickness of the anode active material inside a battery cell to be increased in both “volumetric and gravimetric energy density.” But while the density of the power capacity would be increased, the size of the battery, as well as its maximum charging time and minimum life cycle, would remain unchanged.[..]

[..] But one issue with employing the multi-step CC-CV charging technique is battery life can be significantly decreased depending on temperature. For example, using the same current-charge density at 10 degrees celsius will lower the cycle life “substantially” when compared to a higher temperature such as 45 degrees. In addition, current-charge densities further reduce the battery’s cycle life if it is at a higher state of charge, between 70 percent and 100 percent. Apple’s solution would reduce the charge currents for a mobile device when its battery is at a higher state of charge, or a lower temperature. This would avoid degradation in the cycle life of the battery, and potentially even increase it, without any required change in battery chemistry.

There are several ways future iPhones, iPads etc could benefit from this patent:

Source: Apple Patent Aims To Improve iPhone’s Battery Life