Apple patents a Slim Touch Panel detects 3D Gestures

There is nothing new that Apple is investigating in the area of the three dimensions, without going further in late 2014 the company patented a 3D interface for the iPhone. Now, the guys at Cupertino would be working for a thinner touch panel would also be able to detect 3D gestures in the air.

By now everyone knows the large number of patents of any kind that Apple is holding, but over recent times has come to our attention that several of them are focused on the screens. Last October, Apple got a patent for flexible displays, suggesting that they could use in future generations of the iPhone or even the Watch, but can also stay in the pan.

Now, Apple seeks to go a step further with its new method of pressure-sensitive input, known as Force Touch technology. In addition, the future could allow users to perform gestures pointing or waving their hands in front of the device, without touching the screen, as shown in the last patents registered by the company.

Apple patents a system of 3D gestures in the air to touch panels

The company introduced a couple of new patents last week in the Patent and Trademark United States related to touch panels. The first one under the title of "Touch and Hover Sensor Compensation" which describes how the device can use several adjacent sensors to detect movement and gestures at a distance on a screen.

It is known as gestures "in the air" those three-dimensional movements through which they could open up new ways in which users can interact with a device. In the description of this patent, Apple says there are motion detection devices on the market, but give a reliable and accurate response to the gestures in the air is incredibly difficult.

Apple invented the proposal is related to compensation for sensors. The Cupertino think they could reduce the margin of error using adjacent sensors and applying a gain factor to measurements that capture, reducing the sensitivity variation in different location sensors of the device.

The second patent is concerned with a thinner touch panel

On the other hand, the second patent registered in the Patent and Trademark United States is entitled "On-Cell Touch Architecture". In it, how to make touch panels for devices like the iPhone or iPad even thinner described.

In addition, this patent does not refer only to get a thinner touch panel is made, also speak of 3D gestures in the air. In this patent, Apple notes that some capacitive touch sensing systems use electric fields to detect not only what is played on the screen, also detecting fingertips beyond the surface of the screen.

In the description of the patent note that "objects approaching near the surface can be detected near the surface without touching the screen."

Both patents discovered by AppleInsider quite sound, especially knowing that in 2013 Apple acquired PrimeSense for $ 360 million, a company known worldwide for being responsible for creating the technology used by the first generation of Microsoft Kinect sensor. This technology detects user's movements to control games on the Xbox 360.

Anyway, PrimeSense acquisition by Apple remains a mystery, although it is believed that could include some advanced motion input in the next generation of Apple TV. With these capabilities, users could control the Apple TV without using the remote control, iPhone or any other accessory.