Apple has found an ally in the Apple Watch that offers the company many millions in revenue and profits. It may be the device most loved by Tim Cook, not in vain, it is sponsored by him. That is why it is not surprising the number of patents that we see at the end of the year directed to this device. The last known is the one that deals with the possibility of including in the clock a battery that can be moved. The end: to give haptic responses to your users.
A new patent registered by Apple warns of the possibility of creating a battery that is capable of movement. With this, it could give haptic responses to its users and thus offer more information if possible. The American company continues its efforts to make the Apple Watch slimmer, this time seeking to eliminate the need for a separate taptic engine. Rather than that motor taking up space, Apple is looking to see if it can make the battery do double duty as a source of haptic feedback. The application called "Portable electronic device having a haptic device with a mobile battery cell", is the latest of many attempts to relocate the haptic motor.
What Apple wants is that you can have a battery that is electrically coupled to the screen. Also a coil assembly that is configured to induce oscillatory motion. If achieved, the need for a separate haptic motor would potentially be eliminated. Apple could use that space for other reasons.
The smaller the mass of the haptic device, the further it will be necessary for the haptic device to move the mass to produce the same haptic output. For example, a first mass half as large as a second mass can move twice as far to generate the same magnitude of haptic output. Even when the mass is made smaller to accommodate a larger battery cell, the additional space required for the haptic device to move the mass can limit the space available for the size of the battery cell.
Taking into account all the above, a caveat must be made. As long as we talk about patents we have to bear in mind that it is more than possible that an idea remains on paper and that it does not become reality. Every year many new ideas are registered but very few ever become reality. We do not know what will happen with this one but of course what is raised is very interesting.