New Apple patent reveals flexible iWatch plans

A new patent discovered this week which has been registered by Apple, could indicate not only how the new Apple iWatch might look but also how it would work.

Rumours have been circulating about the development of an Apple iWatch for sometime and the new Apple Patent, discovered by Apple Insider, confirms that Apple is at least investigating the possibility of developing a wearable Apple device.

The new Apple patent shows a ‘wearable accessory device’ which contains a full-length flexible touchscreen and can be affixed to the user’s body thanks to a “slap bracelet mechanism”.

For this wrist-wearable tech Apple have been investigating the use of a bi-stable spring which is explained in the patent:

“The most recent widespread use of such a device was the slap bracelet, also called the slap wrap. The slap bracelet consists of layered flexible steel bands sealed within a fabric cover. Typical slap bracelets are roughly one inch in width by nine inches in length. In a first equilibrium position they can be flat. The second equilibrium is typically reached by slapping the flat embodiment across the wrist, at which point the bracelet curls around the wrist and stays relatively secure in a roughly circular position.”

When in its “curled state,” or otherwise attached to a user’s arm, the bracelet can take on the form of an uninterrupted screen. On-board sensors, like gyroscopes and accelerometers, would aid in orienting the screen’s information toward the user.

A rather neat feature of this Apple iWatch patent is that the devices is capable of detecting the size of your wrist and adapting the display to compensate, using a “end-detection” sensor, that provides a contingency for larger and smaller sized appendages.

Would you wear this vision of an iWatch?