Apple patent reveals winter-friendly iPhone gloves
Posted January 3rd, 2009 by GenghisPhlip
A recently filed application at the U.S. Patent Office acknowledges that the capacitive touchscreens on devices like the iPhone and iPod touch are next to impossible to use in colder weather. The screens depend on the electrical response from a user’s bare fingertips, which in cold weather are usually covered by insulated gloves leaving the user to either take off the glove and expose the digits to the elements or wait until safely indoors.
The solution proposed by the engineers at Apple is to give gloves a second, inner layer beyond the surface that would simulate the electrical feedback of human fingers. Small apertures at each fingertip would allow device users peel back the outer, more weatherproof layer to expose the inner layer that would be capable of using touchscreen devices with the same approximate responsiveness as bare skin.
The patent filed by Apple is in no way unique as clothiers like ‘Dots’ have already developed gloves that do a pretty good job of generating conductivity.
