Apple has innovated a new method to keep its device display functional even when it is submerged underwater or any other form of liquid. The new patent was published by the US Patent Office on February 27. Apple applied for the copyright for this invention back in Q3 2019, noted PatentlyApple.
After the acquisition of the patent, Apple would rush to implement the newly discovered technology in its future devices. And the utility surely would help Apple to get an edge over its competitors. The patent would especially help Apple Watch as it would remain fully operable even while the user would swim across a distance.
Usually, a touch display comes embedded with a touch sensor which turns on when a user touches the screen. If a touchscreen display is immersed inside the water or has a drop of water over it, the existing sensor treats it similar to physical touches and make the screen inoperable.
What's inside Apple's innovation?
Apple invented a way out from the display non-responsiveness underwater. The new innovation would add two touch surfaces instead of one. The first touch surface would integrate a System in Package (SiP) embedded with a self-capacitance sense pad. The SiP, which remains mounted to the first surface which would be positioned closer than the second surface.
When the device is in general state, the pressure sensors and displacement sensors would determine the amount of force associated with the touch and execute the appropriate functionality. But when the device get immersed underwater, the SiP embedded in the interior volume would come into play for determining the amount of pressure.
The technology sometimes might take help of other installed sensors in the device such as barometric pressure, temperature and other available sensors to determine the accurate force of the pressure to execute its force touch functionality. In the patent paper, Apple has claimed the new Force Touch technology may also use the non-display surface or even the back of the device to determine the exact location of a user's touch. The new Force Touch technology may be incorporated in the new generation of Apple device, which is about to get rolled out in late 2020 or early 2021.
