Apple Tablet Described in Patent [Apple]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/lH02aU7lyWE/apple-tablet-described-in-patent

Hidden within the usual litany of claims in a patent awarded this January—titled "Display Housing for Computing Device", which covers their current portable displays—Apple describes a tablet display, with the display housing the computer device.

The patent describes several forms for these displays—most of them already in use in current Apple laptops—, and one of them describes the display as a "housing for a computer device", which includes the computer electronics within the display housing, sandwiched between front and back shells.

[0015]As a housing for a computer device, one embodiment of the invention includes: a front shell; a back shell coupled to said front shell to produce said housing, electrical components for the computer device being internal to said housing; and a foam stiffener provided internal to said housing to substantially fill unused space internal to said housing, thereby providing stiffness to said housing.

Like always, patents don't have to materialize into products, but it's always comforting to see Apple thinking about creating such a device. Or at least, contemplating the possibility and covering all bets in a patent. [USPTO via Electronic Pulp]