Let the Apple Car rumors roll on. Apple has filed for a patent (number US 20230061874 A1) for “windows with uniform thickness” for a vehicle.
About the patent filing
Per the patent filing, each window of an Apple Car may include one or more structural glass layers. A layer of polymer may be used to attach glass layers together. An electrically adjustable component such as a light modulator layer may be included between the structural glass layers.
The glass layers may be characterized by regions of compound curvature. To ensure satisfactory optical performance, Apple says the window layers should be formed from molded sheets of glass that are shaped in a molding tool with draw beads of various strengths. The molded glass layers may exhibit a high degree of uniformity, so that optical effects due to thickness variations are not readily discernible to the naked eye.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “A system may have a window. The system may be a vehicle having a vehicle body. The window may serve as a front window in the vehicle body, a rear window in the vehicle body, a side or roof window, or other window. A window may include one or more structural glass layers. A layer of polymer may be used to attach glass layers together. An electrically adjustable component such as a light modulator layer may be included between structural glass layers.
“The glass layers may be characterized by regions of compound curvature. To ensure satisfactory optical performance, the window layers may be formed from molded sheets of glass that are shaped in a molding tool with draw beads of various strengths. The molded glass layers may exhibit low amounts of thickness variation.”
When might we see an Apple Car?
Apple has scaled back its “ambitious” plans for a self-driving electric car and postponed the launch date back a year to 2026, reports Bloomberg.
The article says that Apple plans to sell a consumer “Apple Car” for “under” $100,000. Other points from the article:
° Apple wanted its vehicle to come without a steering wheel or pedals, but has decided that such a plan isn’t feasible at this time.
° The Apple Car will have guided driving features that work on highways, but won’t be fully autonomous.
° Apple currently plans to develop a vehicle that lets drivers conduct other tasks — say, watch a movie or play a game — on a freeway and be alerted with ample time to switch over to manual control if they reach city streets or encounter inclement weather.
° It will sport an Apple-designed custom processor to power AI (artificial intelligence) functionality.
° It will use the cloud for some AI processing.
° Apple might offer a remote command center that could assist drivers and control cars from afar during emergencies.
° Apple may also offer its own insurance program.
° Apple still hasn’t dialed in on a design for its first vehicle and the team is still working in a “pre-prototype” stage.
