Apple Inc (AAPL)

[Anty_Jr]

Apple Won 58 Patents today covering Bokeh Effect, Inductive Charging, Liquid Metal & Apple Watch Heart Rate Estimation

http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2017/12/apple-won-58-patents-today-covering-bokeh-effect-inductive-charging-liquid-metal-apple-watch-heart-rate-estimation.html

Granted Patent: Liquid Metal, Metallic Glass Parts including Core and Shell

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to methods of constructing parts using metallic glass alloys, and metallic glass alloy materials. Apple has never outright confirmed the use of liquid metal to create any part of a device to date.

Apple's patent FIG. 7A below depicts a metallic glass part having a metallic glass shell surrounding an internal cavity; FIG. 7B depicts a metallic glass part having a metallic glass shell surrounding an internal alloy core.

6 liquid metal granted patent figs. 7a 7b

In this granted patent, Apple notes FIG. 7A depicts an example of a metallic glass part 700 having a metallic glass shell 702 and an evacuated core (i.e. internal cavity) 706. FIG. 7B depicts an example of a part 700 having an alloy core 710 in place of the internal cavity 706 of FIG. 7A.

Interestingly Apple notes that "In some embodiments, the metallic glass shell can be constructed by 3D printing, such as by laser heating or electron beam heating.

As usual, Apple lists devices that could take advantage of liquid metal today or in the future: iPhone, iPod, iPad, Television, Apple TV box, Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac (desktop), keyboard and mouse.

Apple's granted patent 9,849,504 was originally filed in Q2 2015 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.