Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
APPLE’S NEXT MACBOOK could be able to partially charge itself using only solar panels if the company ever follows up on a new patent.
The company was awarded 31 patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office this week, one of which is a patent called “Electronic device display module” which describers a two-sided display for the lid of a laptop.
While the traditional LCD screen would be placed at the front of the lid, the back will be transparent and would allow light to pass through.
The proposed patent from Apple (Image: US Patent and Trademark Office)
The cover, made out of electrochromic glass or “smart glass”, would change from transparent to translucent and control the amount of light (and heat) it sends out. The light may be used to illuminate a logo which would be made from a different material to the rear cover.
The patent says that the top plate of the laptop would have solar cells located between the smart glass and the LCD screen. You can then adjust the smart glass to allow light to transmit to the solar cells and charge your laptop’s battery.
Other aspects of the patent include the cover being touch-sensitive, allowing people to use it while the lid is closed. The device would also be cellular, meaning it could transmit and receive cellular telephone signals.
Of the 31 patents recently published by the US Patents office, all were originally filed by Apple back in August 2010.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
“Duel display”.
The displays fight each other after too much time in the sun.
That’ll be great in sunny Ireland
You don’t it to be sunny for solar panels to work
This is not news. Apple file patents all the time and most of them never get used.
From what I read this doesn’t really seem like that good of an idea. Duel display with a touch screen cover that might charge in the sun? It just sound like a very finnicky and awkward. Apple will make it though and people will buy it.
Because if it was samsung most commenters here would cream their knickers.
There are already laptops out there that have solar panels built in, so it sounds like what apple were patenting is the ability to control the amount of light you let through using electrotrasparent glass. Not sure why you would want to implement this patent though, when it is advantageous to block light from a solar panel?
Hahaha everyone’s so negative it’s gonna happen anyway and if any company can do it why not the most expensive company in the world. I mean they brought out their first tablet back in the 80′s! Let them do it stop being so negative, besides Samsung will bring out an inferior version two years later that you can all buy and say “it’s so much better”
It would undoubtedly be better if Samsung spent 2 years assessing the faults of the Apple Product
Boring
Solar laptops already exist http://solaptop.com/en/
Not surprising they patented their own design though.
Charge it up using Irish wind power today!
https://www.facebook.com/EnergyElephant
have your say