Airbags to Protect iPhone Glass from Shattering?
Tech giant Apple filed for new patent which shows that iPhones are getting little airbags to protect the iOS device from shattering when dropped.
The patent was filed in the second quarter of 2010. The airbag is in the form of tunable shock mount that will be placed between the screen and the body of the device. The shock mount will automatically inflate itself when it senses a drop determined by the accelerometer integrated in the iPhone.
The shock mount will be combined with stronger glass materials such as alumino silicate glass or also known as "Gorilla Glass;" or it will be combined with sodalime and borosilicate materials that are resistant to thermal shock.
The shock mount will be made out of polymer, foam, gel, silicone rubber, or other viscoelastic material. This will be filled with a special fluid as an inflatable bladder or airbag.
One of the aims of Apple is to enhance the durability of the iOS devices as the thinner the device becomes, the thinner the glass gets. Thus, shock and impact can easily shatter the glass cover of the Apple devices.
Apple has to improve its glass covering and minimize glass-shattering incidents as the company faces a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year that alleges that Apple's claims about the strength of the glass covers for its iPhone 4 smartphones are deceptive to consumers.
According to the complaint filed in the California Superior Court last January by Donald LeBuhn, Apple's claims through its ads that the highly-engineered glass panels in iPhone 4 are "ultra-durable and more scratch resistant than ever. However, complainants find the aforementioned statement defective and misleading to consumers as the glass still breaks.
The patent filed by the Cupertion-based company is the same patent filed by Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos for smartphone airbags, springs, and compressed air thrusters. Both aim to protect portable devices from impact and were filed around the same time towards the beginning of 2010. Apple could be aiming for competition and more patent wars in the future as it seems that smartphones are headed toward that direction.
Even though a patent was filed, it does not necessarily mean that it will be applied or integrated in future iOS devices. There is no statement from Apple if the "airbag" capability of iPhone will be applied to the next generation of iPhone and other iOS devices.
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