Apple's future iPhone may adopt Mac Pro's "cheese grater" grid design to enhance heat dissipation

According to a newly granted patent filing, Apple is looking into expanding the unique "cheese grater" lattice design of the 2019 Mac Pro to other devices, including the iPhone and the "trash can" Mac Pro.

　　An innovative lattice pattern, which Apple introduced on Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR in 2019, is created by machining a spherical array into the inner and outer surfaces of the aluminum, maximizing air flow while creating an extremely rigid structure.

　　The new patent, first spotted by Patently Apple and granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is titled "Enclosure Structure" and covers extending the lattice pattern to other devices, like the iPhone.

　　The patent explains that "recent advances in electronic devices have enabled high levels of performance," but many existing enclosure solutions are unable to "effectively distribute or exhaust heat generated by the electronic device into the surrounding environment," thereby inhibiting "the performance levels of such devices."

　　Apple argues that its lattice pattern provides a solution to this problem because it increases the surface area of ​​the device for better cooling and more effectively "conducts heat away from electronic device components positioned substantially adjacent to the first surface of the body."

　　As discussed above, these enhanced levels of heat dissipation can lead to significant improvements in the performance of electronic devices and can allow for the use of components or levels of operation that may not have been possible heretofore with existing three-dimensional structures.

　　In terms of improved heat dissipation, devices with a lattice pattern can push their processors to higher temperatures for better performance.

　　Illustrations included in the application show how a miniaturized version of the lattice pattern could be milled directly into the frame and back of the iPhone.

　　In addition to significantly improving thermal performance, it also improves the grip, "provides a unique and pleasing look and feel", and provides "a pleasant experience when operating the device."

　　In some cases, the three-dimensional structure may include a relatively complex repeating pattern that, in addition to enhancing heat dissipation and providing rigidity, may also provide a visually interesting or aesthetic effect to the user. Such a three-dimensional structure, for example, when used as a housing, may also include a variety of colors on one or more areas of the housing to enhance the visual appearance and provide a pleasing aesthetic experience to the user.

　　Another advantage of the lattice pattern is that it increases structural strength without increasing the thickness or weight of the component.

　　When used as a housing or other structural component of an electronic device, the three-dimensional structures described herein can provide a high level of strength and stiffness-to-weight ratio to the device. Conventional structures typically achieve enhanced stiffness or strength by thickening or enlarging certain portions of the structure, often resulting in increased weight and size of the electronic device, which may not be desirable to the user. For example, the three-dimensional structures described herein can include a matrix of channels that acts to greatly enhance the stiffness of the three-dimensional structure without significantly increasing the size or weight of the structure. As a result, a relatively light, yet extremely strong and stiff electronic device can be produced.

　　Another application covers embedding the lattice into the interior of an iPhone to increase stiffness and strength, allowing "the electronic device to be used for a long time while maintaining dimensional stability."

　　The patent also mentions that the lattice structure "can serve as a shield for electronic devices while still allowing air to flow therethrough," specifically as a shield against electromagnetic interference (EMI) and/or electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) noise.

　　IT Home learned that in addition to the iPhone, Apple seems to have redesigned the 2013 Mac Pro, which was called the "trash can" by the outside world to show an alternative design scheme with a plaid pattern.

　　Given that the lattice pattern first appeared on the 2019 tower Mac Pro, it's interesting to see some design aspects of the latest Mac Pro implemented on the older model.

　　The patent suggests that Apple may be planning to bring its unique plaid pattern to more devices in the future, but only time will tell.