With the launch of the Apple Watch, Apple introduced a new folding power adapter for the U.K. and other markets that use its three-pin plug. And now a new patent suggest the Cupertino company is already working to improve its design by introducing magnets.
The new patent, which was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today, details a “Magnetic rotation actuator” that works in much the same was as the folding mechanism already found in Apple’s new 5-watt U.K. adapter.
This allows all three pins to fold away when the adapter isn’t in use, saving space and preventing the adapter from getting caught on wires and other obstructions in the bottom of a bag. The mechanism also allows users to deploy all three pins simply by lifting the central prong.But as its name suggests, the revised system uses magnets rather than springs, which would reduce the possibility of the mechanism failing over time. It also means that users do not need to manually lift the central pin to deploy the others.
Instead, the magnetic system features a drive mechanism that provides “low friction, low wear operation with full electrical isolation between critical internal components,” AppleInsider explains.
This mechanism would enable the pins to pop out automatically at the touch or slide of a button, as described in one of Apple’s embodiments.
“Internally, the adapter’s design is very similar to that of Apple’s new UK-style product save for a few minor details,” AppleInsider adds.
“For example, the document notes bands are used to connect with and rotate a second shaft operable to live and neutral prongs, an operation accomplished with spring-assisted arms on Apple’s shipping product.”
What’s unclear at this point is whether this really is an improved system, or whether it was an alternative that Apple decided not to use. The patent is dated April 2014, so Apple has been working on it for a while, which could suggest it chose the spring-loaded method instead of this one for a certain reason.
We’ll have to wait and see whether its magnet-loaded plugs ever make it to market, then.
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