Let the Apple Car rumors roll on. Apple has filed for a patent(number 20210370824) for lighting systems for a car.
About the patent filing
In the patent filing, Apple notes that equipment such as embedded systems may sometimes include light-emitting components that provide aesthetic lighting and informative visual output such as display and status indicator light output. Lighting systems for equipment may sometimes be insufficiently flexible, may produce output that is insufficiently informative and that is not aesthetically appealing, or may be unable to respond to varying input conditions.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “Lighting may be provided using light sources such as lighting systems with arrays of light-emitting diodes. A lighting system may be integrated into a seat, a door panel, a dashboard, or other interior portions of a system such as a vehicle. The interior portions of the vehicle may be illuminated using lighting systems to provide ambient light, to provide custom surface textures and other decorative patterns, to provide icons, text, and other information, and to provide custom gauges and other illuminated regions. Illuminated regions may overlap sensors such as capacitive touch sensors, force sensors, and other sensors.
“The light-emitting diodes in a lighting system may supply light that passes through openings in a cover layer. The layer may be formed from fabric, leather, or other materials. Lens structures may guide light through the openings.”
When might we see an Apple Car?
On. Nov. 18, Bloomberg reported that Apple is accelerating development on its “Apple Car.” The article says the electric vehicle will be self-driving and could roll out in 2025.
What’s more, in a note to clients — as noted by AppleInsider — investment bank Wedbush says Apple is likely to announce a strategic electric vehicle partnership in 2022 to lay the groundwork for an “Apple Car” release in 2025.
