The US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple to strengthen further the structural housing glass and cover display of upcoming iPhones and other devices, such as a potential all-glass iMac.
Apple’s latest patent pertains to strengthening the structural housing glass and a cover glass of upcoming iPhones and other devices, including a potential all-glass iMac. Apple points out that while applying anti-scratch and anti-reflection coatings to glass structures may be desirable, doing so can result in tension concentrations that increase the risk of the glass structure breaking. Without caution, glass structures could be vulnerable to cracking when put under increased stress during an unintentional impact event.
Physical vapor deposition or other deposition methods may place thin film coating layers on the housing. The coating layers could be opaque layers that can be patterned to create logos, text, or other visual elements, translucent coatings that create anti-reflection and anti-scratch layers, and other coating layers.
The coating layers on the glass structures of the electronic device may be made of polycrystalline materials in which grains have been grown in an interlaced spiral configuration to prevent damage to a glass display structure if the electronic device is dropped or otherwise subjected to stress.
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