Apple's invention for Experimental in-store Force Touch Display Tables with Rippling Water Effect comes to Light
Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to an experimental force touch table that was tested in New York and San Francisco Apple Stores.
Experimental Apple Store Force Touch Display Table
Although the force touch tables presented in the video below would be fun to try out for a minute, it's hard to understand what Apple was or is trying to achieve with such a table. Was it to simply show the future of Force Touch/3D Touch or does Apple have future plans for these in-store tables?
Force Touch Display Tables Patent Filing
Apple's invention details systems, apparatuses, and methods related to display tables that interact with devices presented thereon. A system for presenting an electronic device on a display table may include a table including a display screen, a processor operably connected to the display screen, an electronic device including a touch screen on the table, and a cable that connects the electronic device to the processor. The touch screen of the electronic device may display an image that changes in response to an input to the touch screen. The display screen of the table may display an image that changes in response to the input to the touch screen of the electronic device. A change in the display screen image may include a graphical continuation of a change in the touch screen image.
In some embodiments, the display screen image changes in response to the input to the first electronic device and the input to the second electronic device. In some embodiments, the cable is transparent. In some embodiments, the touch screen image and the display screen image are both images of water.
In some embodiments, the change in the touch screen image is different based on a characteristic of the input. In some embodiments, the characteristic is a force of the input, a frequency of the input, a location of the input, a size of the input, a direction of the input, or any combination of these characteristics of the input.
In some embodiments, the images on the display screen and the touch screen may change in response to an input on the touch screen, such as a user's finger contacting the touch screen. For example, in the case where the touch screen and the display screen together show a graphical representation of water, an input on the touch screen may form the epicenter of a graphical representation of a ripple in the water. The ripple may begin on the touch screen, and continue onto the display screen. The changes may vary based on characteristics of the input. For example, one or more of the force, frequency, location, size, direction, and duration of the input may determine how the images change.
In some embodiments, the display table may also provide a tactile and/or audial output in response to the input. The tactile and/or audial output may vary based on characteristics of the input. For example, one or more of the force, frequency, location, size, direction, and duration of the input may determine the type of tactile and/or audial output that occurs in response to the input.
In some embodiments, the electronic device and table display screen may interact to provide related content between the electronic device and display table screen to showcase features of the electronic device, like an iPhone, such as Apple's 3D touch feature.
Apple's patent application 20170308210 was filed back in Q2 2016. Considering that this is a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time.
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