There are many companies who file patent applications for various innovative and revolutionary ideas, and Apple makes no exception. The Cupertino giant has now filed a patent application concerning a manual winding mechanism that would generate electricity to increase battery life on Apple watches.
The patent application describes a device charging mechanism for generating electricity through winding, similar to traditional wristwatches. The application was filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office, according to Apple Insider.
Apple’s patent also talks about a procedure where a spring or coil is used to rotate in a magnetic field to produce electricity by exerting constant rotational force on the charge generator to create electricity. The charging station would have to be set to spin a master rotor, coupled to a second slave rotor and thus generate a magnetic flux effect.
Since Apple already uses a Digital Crown in its watch for navigation, this method could very well be used on upcoming smartwatches. The mechanism would allow users to manually charge their watches. The Apple Watch features a high-capacity battery, while Apple’s tests discovered that the battery could last for up to 18 hours under certain usage conditions.
Apple also launched its Series 2 smartwatches last year which comes with GPS Radio, meaning a big part of the battery life is taken up giving a day’s worth of operational charge.
The electrical generation system could also be used in smartphones and tablets, although Apple is now focused on delivering iPhones with slimmer bodies and bigger screens and higher processing power. Such a winding mechanism looks at home on an Apple watch, but it remains to be seen if Apple will perfect this technology and incorporate in the upcoming smartwatches.
