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Apple may finally fix its flimsy iPhone charger cables:
Every iPhone user likely has had one Lighting cable fray [on] them. It's been an annoying issue, and one that's driven third-party sellers to create braided cables that can withstand more abuse.
It seems that Apple is at the very least researching ways to make its cables more resilient. According to a patent filing first noticed by AppleInsider, Apple has been working on a "cable with variable stiffness" that gets thicker toward the ports.
Lightning cables are known for having thick connector points. It's what Apple internally refers to as the strain relief sleeve. While the ends of Apple cables are meant to keep the cable from fraying, often those areas become pressure and kink points. Apple acknowledged as much in its patent filing.
"In addition to making the cable locally stiffer, the strain relief sleeve also makes the cable thicker at the ends. In some instances, the added thickness may not be desired," the patent filing reads.
To get around this, Apple is essentially designing a cable that has denser material toward the ends that tapers off. [...]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 05 2021, @07:21PM (3 children)
I call bullshit on USPTO and the invention obvious and most likely already been done.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 05 2021, @08:16PM
Old idea new twist.
https://tribebicycles.com/blogs/news/16951723-what-is-butting-breaking-down-the-tribe-triple-butted-frame-4130-chromoly-steel-frame [tribebicycles.com]
https://www.reynoldstechnology.biz/faqs/what-is-butted-tubing/ [reynoldstechnology.biz]
Also see NASA wiring book. Circa 1959? Has the same idea but with cloth overwire protection. Sometimes with a wax or glue stabilizer in the cloth.
I've used three stage heat shrink tubing to reinforce wire connector ends. The inner tube is longest and against the wire. The next one is over that and is shorter. The last one is over those and is the shortest. Two larger ones have the ends inside the connector butted together at the end of the insulator, The small inner tube extends two millimeters past the end of the insulator to provide support for the wires inside the connector.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 05 2021, @08:40PM (1 child)
But they added "on an Apple device."
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Saturday February 06 2021, @06:38PM
In that case, other device manufacturers can copy their design, because they won't be on an Apple device.