Apple continues to Work on their Exciting Futuristic All-Glass iMac – Patently Apple

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a follow-up patent from Apple relating to their possible future iMac encased in an all-glass housing. The design is shown to be one of Apple's most excitingly creative concepts for a future iMac to date.

This future iMac/desktop PC may include a display coupled to the glass housing member and configured to provide a visual output at the display area. The electronic device may include a keyboard coupled to the glass housing member and configured to detect an input at the input area. Alternative designs show the keyboard being separable.

Apple clarifies that the glass housing could be made with materials that are transparent, coated, painted, or otherwise treated to produce a non-transparent (e.g., opaque) component; in such cases the material may still be referred to as transparent, even though the material may be part of an opaque component. Translucent components may be formed by producing a textured or frosted surface on an otherwise transparent material (e.g., clear glass). Translucent materials may also be used, such as translucent polymers, translucent ceramics, or the like.

The housing member may have properties that enable the diverse input and output functions. For example, the housing member (e.g., the optically transmissive member) may be strong and may have a high resistance to scratching, and may provide a surface finish having a superior appearance and/or tactile feel as compared with other materials or components.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below we see a continuous glass iMac/Desktop PC design that includes an OLED display,an integrated keyboard and left and right touch input zones like a seamless dual trackpad construction; FIG. 11E illustrates the back of the new device with ports and speaker. The device could double as a home automation system.

Apple's patent FIG. 4B below notes that the housing member #450, and in particular the portion of the input area #455 in the lower portion #454, may be shaped to define physically distinctive key regions.

There's more to Apple's patent that we covered back in January 2020 here. In today's published patent, Apple has added 20 new patent claims. Below are 14 of the key additions:

Added Claim #1: An electronic device comprising: a glass housing member comprising: an upper portion defining a display area; a lower portion defining an input area; and a transition portion extending between the upper portion and the lower portion and defining part of a continuous surface defined by the upper portion, the lower portion, and the transition portion; a display coupled to the glass housing member and configured to provide a graphical output at the display area; an input device coupled to the glass housing member and configured to detect an input at the input area; and a support structure coupled to the glass housing member and configured to support the glass housing member.

Added Claim #2: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the upper portion defines a first planar region of the continuous surface; the lower portion defines a second planar region of the continuous surface; and the transition portion defines a concave, curved region of the continuous surface.

Added Claim #3: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the glass housing member is a single piece of glass.

Added Claim #4: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the glass housing member defines a rear surface opposite the continuous surface; and the display is coupled to the rear surface.

Added Claim #5: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the display area extends along the upper portion, the transition portion, and the lower portion; and the display has a curvature that corresponds to a curvature of the glass housing member.

Added Claim #6: The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the display area extends to an edge of the glass housing member.

Added Claim #7: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the glass housing member is movable, relative to the support structure, from a first configuration resulting in a first display angle to a second configuration resulting in a second display angle different from the first display angle.

Added Claim #8: A desktop computer comprising: a display; an input device operably coupled to the display; a glass sheet comprising: a first portion defining a planar display area; a second portion defining a planar input area; and a curved portion between the planar display area and the planar input area; and a support structure coupled to the glass sheet and configured to support the glass sheet.

Added Claim #9: The desktop computer of claim 8, wherein: the glass sheet is configured to move relative to the support structure; in a first configuration, the first portion has a first display angle; and in a second configuration, the first portion has a second display angle different from the first display angle.

Added Claim #14: The desktop computer of claim 8, wherein the input device extends along at least a portion of the planar display area to form a touchscreen-style display.

Added Claim #15: An electronic device comprising: a slumped glass housing member defining: a continuous exterior surface of the electronic device; and an opening extending through the slumped glass housing member; a support structure coupled to the slumped glass housing member and configured to support the slumped glass housing member; a display coupled to an upper portion of the slumped glass housing member; and a keyboard having: a storage configuration in which the keyboard is positioned at least partially within the opening; and a use configuration in which the keyboard is extended from the opening.

Added Claim #16: The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the keyboard is: releasably coupled to the slumped glass housing member; and configured to detach from the slumped glass housing member in the use configuration.

Added Claim #17: The electronic device of claim 15, wherein: the slumped glass housing member further defines an input area; the electronic device further comprises an input device configured to detect inputs at the input area; and in the use configuration, an actuation of a key of the keyboard causes an input to be detected by the input device.

Added Claim #18: The electronic device of claim 15, wherein: the opening is a first opening; a second opening is defined in the upper portion of the slumped glass housing member; the electronic device further comprises: a camera positioned at least partially in the opening; and a processing unit positioned in the support structure; and the camera is operably coupled to the processing unit by a camera trace coupled to the slumped glass housing member.

To review the full patent and the rest of the new patent claims, see patent application 20210397220.

Renderings

The excitement for this new iMac concept had a number of renderers post images of what the design could translate to. Our cover graphic and those presented below are fromYanko Design. You could view a variety of additional rendering on their sitehere.

Originally posted here:
Apple continues to Work on their Exciting Futuristic All-Glass iMac - Patently Apple