Name: Future Apple devices with atmospheric sensors may use UV light to keep clean | AppleInsider
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Future Apple devices with atmospheric sensors may use UV light to keep clean | AppleInsider

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content.To keep delicate and very small sensors within a future or Apple Watch clean and working perfectly, Apple is researching the use of heat and light to decompose contaminants. Apple has a regularly updated support page about how users can keep their devices clean, but it can only go so far. The very oil from our fingers can make some device sensors less effective, and those can be inaccessible to users. In a pair of related patent applications, Apple describes methods of how certain types of sensor in an Apple Watch or an iPhone can could utilize their own cleaning system. They could deploy ozone, generated by an ultraviolet light, to push away or even erode and decompose "unwanted organic compounds" inside the device. "Many mobile electronic devices are equipped with sensors and transducers that enable the devices to perform far more functionalities than communications," says entitled "Removal of organic contamination by ozone oxidation for environmental sensor integration." An concentrating on the UV side of the issue, says precisely the same thing. They both continue by listing how "heartbeat, blood pressure and blood oxygen level measurement are among the numerous applications" that such devices may use. "Further, smart mobile communication devices (e.g., smartphones and smartwatches) can be equipped with environmental sensors, such as pressure sensors, humidity sensors and gas sensors," they continue. Apple has previously researched the possibility of adding a sensor to iPhones which will . The problem with that and all such sensors, especially if they have to be exposed to the air, is that the air contains many other things. "[Consequently] these devices are prone to organic residue accumulation, such as skin oils, dirt, body hair, etc." "Such accumulations can contaminate the device housing and/or the sensor packaging that can produce interference signals and result in increasing sensor errors over an extended period," says Apple. "For example, miniature gas sensors rely on gas diffusion into the device housing to detect an ambient gas and to infer the ambient gas concentration," Apple continues. "However, human skin lipids produce squalene, an oily organic compound that can stick to the housing surface and/or sensor packaging. Squalene reacts strongly with oxidizing gases (e.g., ozone and nitrogen oxides), which could significantly increase the errors of such sensors." The applications go on to mention how "conventional methods may use a physical mesh... to prevent accumulation of dust or larger particles," but that this "may not be effective." An alternative idea is to use air flow, to have a fan blowing across the device. "[However this] scheme may not be ideal for mobile devices, given the size, power and noise impacts." Instead, Apple proposes a system "to decompose organic contaminants inside product housing or near sensor packaging, in order to restore the clean environment needed for accurate readings of the integrated environmental sensors." And that system can be "by using ultraviolet (UV) light to illuminate the contaminants." "The UV light rays can initiate a photo-oxidation process, which results in decomposition of squalene," says Apple. "Upon reaction with UV light, squalene, shown with its chemical formula, is decomposed into three byproducts... that may not be hazardous to environmental sensors." There are these two near-identical patent applications because they are attempting to solve the same problem and doing so with methods that overlap. Ozone oxidation can decompose certain contaminants, but, for example, "[squalene] reacts strongly with oxidizing gases (e.g., ozone and nitrogen oxides), which could significantly increase the errors of such sensors." UV light can therefore be the better option for decomposing the contaminants, but UV light generates ozone. So the two patent applications overlap as they detail ways of generating, controlling, and using both UV and ozone within small devices. Between them, the two patent applications are credited to a total of four inventors. They include Ashwin Balasubramanian, who was most recently listed on a patent regarding making iPhones work even when they're outside the range of a cell service.Apple.... always finding solutions to problems. Love it!That is actually a very good idea."I told Tim Apple, he should look into doing something with very powerful light, maybe Ultra Violet light, I don't know..."Please enable JavaScript to comment&nbsp;High demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max led to Apple server crashes in China as consumers placed over two million preorders in 24 hours.In iOS 16 Apple introduced Haptic Feedback to the iPhone keyboard. Here's how to use it.Apple made considerable upgrades to the iPhone 14 Pro while making fewer than usual to the iPhone 14. Here's how the two similar-sized flagship iPhone models differ.Apple released the Apple Watch Series 8 alongside an updated Apple Watch SE on September 7. Here's how they compare with one another.Apple made considerable upgrades to the iPhone 14 Pro while making fewer than usual to the iPhone 14. Here's how the two similar-sized flagship iPhone models differ.Apple's iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have arrived. 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Here's how to use it.On Tuesday, Amazon released a pair of Kindles with USB-C, a new high-resolution display, and twice the storage of older models.Apple's iOS 16 makes the iPhone more customizable than ever. This is the ultimate guide on how to make the iPhone a more personal device.Apple's 2022 MacBook Air sports the new M2 chip and an all-new chassis. And it's up to $200 off, with upgraded models starting at just $1,279.New regulatory filings show that the Apple Watch Ultra has a battery that is 76% larger than that in the Series 8, and more than double the size of the small Apple Watch SE.High demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max led to Apple server crashes in China as consumers placed over two million preorders in 24 hours.In iOS 16 Apple introduced Haptic Feedback to the iPhone keyboard. Here's how to use it.Apple made considerable upgrades to the iPhone 14 Pro while making fewer than usual to the iPhone 14. 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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content.To keep delicate and very small sensors within a future or Apple Watch clean and working perfectly, Apple is researching the use of heat and light to decompose contaminants. Apple has a regularly updated support page about how users can keep their devices clean, but it can only go so far. The very oil from our fingers can make some device sensors less effective, and those...

Future Apple devices with atmospheric sensors may use UV light to keep clean | AppleInsider

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