Elzaburu opened its Alicante office in XNUMX, US Patents and Trademarks. has published a new patent application from Apple (via Patently Apple) detailing a flexible material that could be used as a hinge for devices like the MacBook, for example.
Apple details a technical process in which specialized machinery is used to laser cut "flexible" openings in hard materials to allow them to bend and function like a hinge.
A seamless surface can be seen on top of the creation. Apple claims the process would allow reduce device size which is often increased due to traditional solutions of hinge. Imagine if the body of a MacBook didn't include the black plastic hinge and instead was a perfect piece of aluminum that would connect the screen to the lower half of the unibody.
While MacBooks may seem like the obvious application of this Apple invention, they could also be used in any kind of technology, including everything from smartphones to televisions to game consoles. The patent also shows the material that is used in the headset cables to allow a flexible connection of the cable to the headset to prevent damage and in what appears to be a Smart Cover for the iPad.
It is not the first time that Apple has detailed its plans to create more flexible components that could reduce the size of devices and potentially be suitable for a flexible product like a wristwatch. We've seen the patents for flexible displays, flexible batteries, flexible TRS connectors, and it was also reported in April that Apple was looking to hire a display specialist to research flexible displays and other emerging display technologies.
The patent application we have explained was originally filed in the first quarter of 2013. So what could Apple present to make you want to use this technology?
More Information - Apple's future iWatch could be made with Liquidmetal
Source - 9to5mac