The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 49 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we briefly cover possible future physical and audio haptic feedback for Apple Pencil and future OLED displays with bent active edges. We also cover two design patents covering Apple Card and, as always, we wrap up this week's granted patent report with our traditional listing of the remaining granted patents that were issued to Apple today.

Advanced Apple Pencil Physical & Audio Haptics

The evolution of Apple Pencil has been slow but steady. Today, Apple has been granted a patent for a future Apple Pencil with advanced feedback components that could be advantageous.

The techniques and components described involve an Apple Pencil capable of detecting an amount of contact that is made with a touch screen panel and generating a haptic feedback response that is based on the amount of contact. Such techniques and components may be advantageous to graphical artists drawing with an Apple Pencil, where the accuracy and representation of graphical images generated by the touch screen display can be highly dependent upon the haptic feedback perceived by the user.

One of the components described herein is an "audible feedback component" which is interchangeably used with the term "acoustic feedback component," and refers to generating audible feedback or acoustic feedback in response to contact that is made between an interface unit of a touch sensitive device and an electronic device.

The term "haptic feedback" can refer to simulating a sensation of touch by applying force, vibrations, or motions that can be perceived by the nerves within the user's appendages.

Haptic feedback can involve the transformation, displacement, oscillation, vibration, or modification of a body of material (e.g., substrate) from an initial configuration to a modified configuration in order to provide feedback that can be perceived by a user. In some embodiments, the haptic feedback perceived by the user is caused by force being exerted by a haptic feedback component against a housing of the electronic device. The haptic feedback can simulate a sensation of touch at a user's nerves present in the user's appendages (e.g., fingers, hand, palm, toes, etc.) as well as other body parts (e.g., lips, nose, etc.).

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below illustrates a perspective view of an Apple Pencil system for generating haptic feedback and audible feedback; FIG. 2A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a touch sensitive Apple Pencil that includes an axial haptic feedback component; FIG. 25 illustrates a perspective view of a system for generating feedback characteristics by a touch sensitive device.

Apple's patent FIG. 26 above illustrates a block diagram of a touch sensitive Apple Pencil with haptic components; FIG. 27A illustrates a perspective view of strands that can be included with a future Apple Pencil.

To review Apple's granted patent 11,221,677 regarding Apple Pencil with haptic along with over 100 patent figures, click here.

Flexible Display Panel with Bent Substrate

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to iDevices such as an iPhone with displays with bent portions.

More specifically, Apple's newly granted patent covers a display having an OLED display that forms an active area on a flexible substrate. Metal traces may extend between the active area and an inactive area of the flexible substrate. Display driver circuitry such as a display driver integrated circuit may be coupled to the inactive area. The metal traces may extend across a bend region in the flexible substrate. The flexible substrate may be bent in the bend region.

Apple's patent FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional side view of the layers in displays with bent flexible substrates.

For more details, review Apple's granted patent 11,223,020

Key Design Patents Granted Today

The Remaining Patents Granted to Apple Today