Future iPhones could use thrusters to avoid freefall damage

Dec 2, 2014 18:11 GMT  ·  By

Ever imagine what you would do if an elevator suddenly started falling down? With you in it? One theory says that if you jump at the right time, you could reduce the impact. That’s what Apple is thinking with its latest patent application approved by the USPTO.

Apple has been granted a tantalizing invention by the United States Patent and Trademark Office where an iPhone could protect itself from freefalls by changing angular momentum in midair, including one embodiment where built-in gas chambers would act as thrusters.

Science fiction material

It’s doable, no doubt about it. But there’s hardly any room for such technology - especially in the various forms presented in Patent No. 8,903,519 - inside the thin enclosure of any Apple device, not just the iPhone. But let’s hear Apple out.

The summary of the invention describes an gadget that has a processor, sensors that talk to that processor, and a protective mechanism that can take one of many forms described in the application, including motors that shift the phone's center of gravity at the moment of impact as to counter the fall.

“The protective mechanism is in communication with the processor and is configured to selectively alter a center of mass of the electronic device. Additionally, the electronic device also includes an enclosure configured to at least partially enclose the processor and the sensor,” reads the document published by the USPTO today.

The mechanism would alter the device’s angular momentum via a rotating or linearly sliding a mass. In other words, a motor that is either eccentric, or linear.

Bult-in “jetpacks”

One strange embodiment includes gas canisters / thrusters.

According to the Cupertino giant, “The thrust mechanism may produce a thrust force in one or multiple directions in order to reorient the device. For example, the thrust mechanism may include a gas canister that may deploy the compressed gas outside of the device to change its orientation.”

Think of a rocket hurdling into space, or holding a shower head by its tail as the water spurts out violently. Apple wants to reproduce this using minuscule gas chambers inside an iPhone or an iPad. Nothing short of ambitious. But is it doable? Maybe, but certainly not with existing manufacturing techniques.

Even if Apple does manage to pull off one or two prototype devices that do get the job done, adjusting every production line to fit these requirements and achieve actual results could skyrocket the iPhone’s price. Thrusters tend to do that, as you might have already guessed.

Nonetheless, it’s a tantalizing prospect for the future of iDevices and not only. If one day this turns out not only doable but also feasible, now you know who has the rights to that invention.

Photo Gallery (5 Images)

Thruster
Apple's thrusters would work similarly to a jetpackSchematic of a linear motor
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