Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180284946) for “ultrasonic touch detection on a stylus” that hints that the company is at least investigating ways for the Apple Pencil to work with iPhones and touchscreen Macs, as well as iPads.
The invention is for an input device outfitted with one or more ultrasonic transducers configured to determine the location of one or more objects in contact with the input device. In the filing, the tech giant repeatedly refers to a “stylus,” although the company doesn’t like to use that term for the Apple Pencil.
In the patent filing, Apple notes that styli have become popular input devices for touch-sensitive devices. In particular, use of an active stylus capable of generating stylus stimulation signals that can be sensed by the touch-sensitive device can improve the precision and control of the stylus.
In some instances it may be desirable for input devices, such as styli, to be able to transfer data, in addition to a stimulation signal used to identify touch location, to the touch screen. For example, data from the input devices (such as touch, force, orientation, tilt, or the like) may be communicated to the touch screen, which may use that data to change an output of the display or perform some other operation.
Here’s Apple’s summary of the patent: “An input device outfitted with one or more ultrasonic transducers can determine the location of one or more objects in contact with the input device. For example, the input device can include one or more transducers disposed in a ring around the circumference of the input device or in an array of rings along the length of the input device.
“The ultrasonic transducers can be used to detect the position of the one or more touching objects in at least one dimension, for example. In some examples, the one or more ultrasonic transducers can produce directional ultrasonic waves.”
Of course, Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product.
