• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

AppleToolBox

Tools and Fixes for Mac, iPad, iPhone & iPod

Search posts

  • Forums
  • Contact

CONNECT WITH US

CATEGORIES

  • All
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Mac/MacBook
  • Apple Watch
  • How-To’s
  • Reviews

SITE

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Forums
  • Contact

Search posts

Back to home
iPhone Fall Protection - Main Pic

Apple patents iPhone drop protection mechanism

By Roland Banks 2 comments Last updated August 18, 2017

0shares

iPhone Fall Protection - Main Pic

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today awarded a unique patent to Apple for a mechanism by which an iPhone can protect sensitive internal components when dropped.

The patent, entitled “Protective mechanism for an electronic device” was discovered today by Apple Toolbox, and describes methods by which an electronic device such as an iPhone may selectively alter their centre of mass in order to minimise the impact of a fall. Notably, the invention describes novel techniques to “selectively change the orientation of the device via a protective mechanism, depending on the estimated impact area of the device”.

This could be achieved by a special component to alter the phone’s mass, which includes a track connected to the enclosure whereby a weight can be shifted along the length of the track, thus altering the phones centre of gravity. In response to detecting the device is in free-fall, the component’s enclosure can be vibrated ,

iPhone Fall Protection - Device
The unique component is able to alter an iPhone’s orientation during free-fall.

 

Protection system can manipulate an iPhone during free-fall

The authors say that by altering the device orientation as the device is falling allows a less vulnerable portion of the device to impact the surface at the end of a free-fall, and the mechanism may rotate the device to impact a surface on its edge rather than the screen. Even more sophisticated techniques are briefly described, such as activating a thrust mechanism that used a gas canister to change the device’s orientation, as well as an air foil to change the device’s aerodynamics.

Another embodiment described contracts buttons, switches and exposed elements inside the phone, to prevent them being damaged and ensuring that the protective outer shell takes the brunt of the impact. Yet more examples include tightening the grip on power and headphone cords in order to slow down the speed of a fall, giving users a chance to catch the device.

iPhone Fall Protection - Process
The patent describes a set of decisions to work out and alter the device’s orientation.

 

How would all this be implemented in an iPhone? The patent describes a combination of sensors such an accelerometer, gyroscopic sensor, distance or position sensors (e.g., radar or ultrasonic), location sensors (GPS and a compass), as well as image sensors (the iPhone camera), and sound and audio sensors (speakers, microphones), all of which may be used in combination.

Whether the futuristic invention ever makes it into an iPhone in one form or another is questionable, but it’s certainly a great concept that could help minimise damage to our fragile smartphones.

Apple credits Nicholas V. King of San Jose, CA and Fletcher Rothkopf of Los Altos, CA as the sole inventors of patent number 8,903,519

Every week, Apple is awarded dozens of innovative patents. You can read more details about one of the most interesting from last week here.

Related Posts:

  • Apple awarded patent for flexible electronic devicesApple awarded patent for flexible electronic devices
  • Apple awarded patent for method of concealing sensorsApple awarded patent for method of concealing sensors
  • 3D display patent awarded to Apple3D display patent awarded to Apple
  • Apple granted patent for a “communicating stylus”Apple granted patent for a “communicating…

Reader Interactions

Write a Comment Cancel reply

Show 2 Comments

  1. mb says

    December 5, 2014 at 12:36 PM

    all

    Reply
  2. akshay says

    December 3, 2014 at 8:19 AM

    I have iPhone 5 … is that feature available for my phone? if so what should I do to activate it?

    Reply

More Articles

Siri – Never Too Old to Learn, Will Soon Feature Shanghainese

SK 0

This week, Reuters reported that Siri would soon start speaking in Shanghainese. This adds a new language to Siri’s portfolio and makes the total number of dialects spoken by Siri to 21.

Apple’ s Istanbul store pays well and attracts well qualified employees

SK 0

Apple is opening Turkey’s first retail store. According to the Turkish press, the Apple store in Turkey pays a lot compared to the average salary in the country. Note that Turkey

Big, Big, Big – 3 New Apple Plants in US

SK 0

The Wall Street Journal quoted US President Donald Trump as saying “ I spoke to Cook, he’s promised me three big plants – big, big, big”. This was during a 45 minute interview with

Primary Sidebar

Connect with us

Popular Articles

  • Where is Game Center app?  Now using iMessage, iCloud Where is Game Center app? Now using iMessage, iCloud
  • No Text or Message Notification Alerts or Sounds on iPhone? Fixes No Text or Message Notification Alerts or Sounds on iPhone? Fixes
  • Daily Q & A: “Your Apple ID has been disabled”:  My Apple ID has been disabled. How do I restore my Apple ID? Daily Q & A: “Your Apple ID has been disabled”: My Apple ID has been disabled. How do I restore my Apple ID?
  • How To Fix Messages and iMessage Problems in iOS 11 How To Fix Messages and iMessage Problems in iOS 11
  • Call Sound Issues With iPhone X or iPhone 8, How-To Fix Call Sound Issues With iPhone X or iPhone 8, How-To Fix

Forums: Recent Topics

  • My iPhone X just went blank screen
  • Text messages are sequences of many numbers
  • iPhone 7 iOS 11 will NOT connect to unsecured WIFI – every published fix tried
  • app disappeared
  • My Apple ID has been disabled. What to do?

Recent Articles

  • Exclusive: Apple Delays AirPower to make way for AirPods 2 Exclusive: Apple Delays AirPower to make way for AirPods 2
  • How to Follow Friends on Apple Music on iOS 11 How to Follow Friends on Apple Music on iOS 11
  • Triple-Protect Yourself by Creating Backups of Your iCloud Drive Files Triple-Protect Yourself by Creating Backups of Your iCloud Drive Files
  • AirPods Through the Washing Machine Cycle, What can you do? AirPods Through the Washing Machine Cycle, What can you do?

Recent Comments

  • SK on My iPad will not turn on: How to fix a dead device
  • SK on Server does not allow relaying email error, fix
  • SK on Siri not working – troubleshooting
  • SK on iPad Frozen, Not Responding, How To Fix

Footer

ABOUT

  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

DEVICES

  • iPhone
  • Mac & MacBook
  • Apple Watch
  • iPad
  • AirPods
  • Apple TV
  • iPod Touch

SERVICES

  • iPhone
  • Mac & MacBook
  • Apple Watch
  • iPad
  • AirPods
  • Apple TV
  • iPod Touch

CONNECT

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • FeedBurner
  • YouTube
  • Google +

© Copyright 2010-2018 AppleToolBox · All Rights Reserved

This site and its content are in no way affiliated or endorsed by Apple, Inc. · Reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited