Odd patents filed by Apple

In February, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple patent number 9,250,734, which relates to "Proximity and multi-touch sensor detection and demodulation." If you're scratching your head, you're not the only one. Think "Minority Report" (as always) or even something close to the displays Tony Stark uses in "The Avengers" or in "Iron Man." Cool, huh?

While filing for patents doesn't guarantee something, or anything, will actually be built, it shows Apple is at least entertaining the idea of a non-touch or hover display. Don't get too excited, though, as it could be several years before anything tangible hits the market. Filing a patent might also deter competitors from developing something similar without paying the company who originally filed the paperwork as we've seen in many lawsuits throughout the years.

A look through Patently Apple’s archive, which goes back to late 2006, shows some of the other interesting ideas and outlandish patents Apple has previously secured. – Brian Chin