Apple just got a very unusual patent.
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Going by the indications from the images for US Patent 9,409,599 granted to Apple, the bigwig tech company is apparently mulling the creation of some kind of an articulated bus – which has two connected coaches, and is being used in some cities – or a truck riding on tank treads rather than wheels.
Specifically, the patent details the steering device of an articulated vehicle.
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published a patent application by Apple which hints that the company may be moving looking to break into the automobile industry.
The patent itself is for a more reliable method of connecting the two halves of an articulated vehicle, such as a ‘bendy bus.’ More specifically, it’s created to protect the steering member from snow and ice.
The Bv 202 is actually two different vehicles, according to Phillips, and is used more for logistics transportation than combat. For those having trouble imagining it, examples of such vehicles are semitrucks, which have joints in the middle of their bodies that bend when they make turns. But many technologies were designed first for defense departments and later adapted for civilian use.
Having been worked on by Apple for nearly two years, Protect Titan is believed to be an electric vehicle with some autonomous features. One suggestion that has been made about Apple’s self-driving vehicle ambitions is that it may be aiming more for an Uber-type ride service rather than private sales, so perhaps a bus isn’t too much of a stretch.
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Law firm Morrison and Foerster said the patent instead belongs to defence firm BAE Systems.
