Apple Latest Patent Leaks, Suggests Solar Charging Touchscreen Unit in Works

iPhone maker Apple Inc is patenting its latest technology, which is reportedly claimed to be a solar powered device. Apple is yet to release a gadget powered by solar energy, but it sees a huge potential for a solar-powered multi-touch gadget. According to a PhoneArena report, the folks in Apple have filed a patent for their latest technological innovation of embedding solar cells in the touch screens of iPhone and iPad devices.

The company is now very particular about patenting because of an unpleasant experience it had with iPod. Apple had lost that bid to Creative in 2006. The new patent description says that it aims at building a single "Stack" that contains sensors needed for a touch screen device. The solar cells integrated in a touch screen can be applied to a wide range of devices, and this remains the real fascination with this patent.

In this innovation, the panel's electrodes, instead of layers act as solar collectors and touch sensors. A management unit integrated with it decides on the energy storage and utilization. Earlier also, a patent was filed in 2008 by the Engineers in Apple regarding the circuitry that is to be adopted in a solar-cell integrated device. This resulted in a general patent application following called "Solar cells on Portable Devices".

Electronics have been around for years but embedding a solar-cell into a touch-screen device is going to be a challenging task for engineers. It is also still uncertain whether all this can be done without any additional cost.