Yesterday the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 45 newly granted patents for Apple. Due to the Apple event at The Brooklyn Academy of Music yesterday where Apple launched their new MacBook Air, Mac mini and iPad Pro, I decided to postpone one key granted patent report. That patent covers the possibility of Apple using Photonic Crystal coatings on future devices such as the iPhone. The coatings could have active areas that brighten a spot of color on an iPhone to alert users of a message or other things and when the alert has been dealt with, the brighter spot on your iPhone's back side will return to the original color of the Phone, blending right in.

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to surfaces having structured optical appearances. More particularly, the embodiments relate to adjusting the visual appearance of a surface by using physical structures that create optical interference effects to change the color, opacity, and/or haze of a surface rather than chemical alteration through the use of dyes or pigments.

Apple notes that structural color is observed in nature and has many characteristics that differ from those of chemical pigments or dyes. Typically color is due to light absorption, but structural color can both refract and reflect light. For example, ordered structural color/photonic crystals operate by reflecting light.

Owing to these characteristics, there have been attempts to make artificial structural color through various technological approaches such as colloidal crystallization, dielectric layer stacking, and direct lithographic patterning. The colloidal crystallization technique is used to make a photonic crystal, which reflects a specific wavelength of light in the crystal and therefore displays the corresponding color.

Apple's invention is directed to a surface having a structured optical appearance comprising a substrate, a photonic crystal coating disposed on the substrate, the photonic crystal coating comprising capsules, each capsule comprising particles disposed in a medium.

The particles are configured to align in an ordered array upon application of an electromagnetic field. In certain variations, the substrate is a glass, a metal, a polymer. In certain variations, the capsule is a glass, or a polymer. In certain variations, the particles are a magnetic material, ferro-electric material, or a dielectric material.

In another aspect, the disclosure is directed to a method of creating or customizing a visual appearance of a surface of a substrate. In some embodiments, the method includes applying a photonic crystal coating to at least a portion of a surface of the substrate. The photonic crystal coating comprises particles embedded in a curable carrier medium within in capsules. The particles are configured to align in an ordered array upon application of an electromagnetic field. A portion of the photonic crystal coating to the electromagnetic field to cause the particles to align in the ordered array such that the portion of the photonic crystal coating appears as a selected color.

The curable carrier medium in the capsules can be cured to retain the selected color after the electromagnetic field is removed. In some variations, the curing step includes selectively applying a laser (e.g., a UV laser) to the portion of the photonic crystal. In other variations, the steps of exposing and curing are repeated successively to create two or more colors. In some variations, different electromagnetic fields can be applied to different portions of the photonic crystal prior to curing the surface.

Alternatively, multiple curing steps can be employed. In some instances, the steps of exposing and curing are repeated successively. Curing using a UV laser can provide very close control of a created image, as curing can be controlled down to the width of a focused laser (e.g., a UV laser).

The photonic crystal coating or layer can be used to create a specific color, pattern, design, drawing, photograph, or other image by reflecting selected wavelengths of light without the use of pigments or dyes.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 above, a plurality of photonic crystals #300 can be dispersed in a coating #330 and applied to a surface #340 of a substrate. The photonic crystals are analogous to photonic crystal and comprise embedded particles #320 within capsules #310 which are made from a transparent material that can be a shell with a hollow interior or filed with a fluid.

Further, Apple's patent FIGS. 4A-4D presented above illustrate any number of patterns, designs, drawings, photographs or any other pixelated image. In FIG. 4A, the photonic crystal coating can be written to striped pattern on surface 400A. In FIG. 4B, the photonic crystal coating can be written to create checkered pattern on surface. In FIG. 4C, the photonic crystal coating can be written to create a polka dot pattern on the surface. And lastly in patent FIG. 4D we're able to see the photonic crystal coating can be written to create a drawing on surface such as starburst or Apple logo. It will be recognized to those skilled in the art that other patterns, designs, drawings, and images are possible.

Apple's patent FIG. 7A shows a photonic crystal coating customized with a striped pattern having two colors; FIG. 7B shows the photonic crystal coating of FIG. 7A after heating to remove the customized striped pattern; FIG. 7C shows the photonic crystal coating of FIG. 7B after exposure to an electromagnetic field to create a customized design.

Apple's patent FIG. 8A above shows a surface of a substrate with a dynamic photonic crystal portion having a first color for use as a notification; FIG. 8B shows the surface of a substrate with a dynamic photonic crystal portion as second color upon exposure to an electromagnetic field to act as an alert; FIG. 8C shows the dynamic photonic crystal portion of the surface of the substrate of FIG. 8B reverting back to a first color upon removal of the electromagnetic field.

Apple's patent FIG. 9A above shows a photonic crystal coating with a dynamic portion for use as a notification; FIG. 9B shows the a dynamic portion of a photonic crystal coating as second color upon exposure to an electromagnetic field to act as an alert; FIG. 9C shows the dynamic portion of a photonic crystal coating of FIG. 9B reverting back to a first color upon removal of the electromagnetic field.

Apple was granted patent 10,114,237 yesterday October 30th. The patent was filed back in Q2 2017.

Apple Engineer / Inventor

Patently Apple presents only a brief summary of granted patents with associated graphics for journalistic news purposes as each Granted Patent is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any Granted Patent should be read in its entirety for full details.