See New Apple patents Here. 

Apple has just been granted close to three dozen U.S. patents by The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including one related to acoustic sensors in the housing of a device that will allow it interpret scratches differently from taps and other actions.

Patent No. 8,441,790, or "Electronic Device Housing as Acoustic Input Device," focuses on tech that would allow a device to detect and react to sound resulting from an impact with the housing, such as dragging a finger along the surface of the device. The sensors send information to a microprocessor, which can distinguish between different types of input as well as interpret what each input means.

A way this could work would be a part of the surface of the device may be used as a trackpad or multitouch surface. So if you tap on a section may be interpreted as a selection of content shown on the display rather than as a keystroke. 

In another example, users can silence a ring by tapping the housing. And dragging a finger, stylus, or other object across the housing or surface of the display may mean something different from tapping the same area. Dragging a finger upward may increase the volume, while dragging a finger across the surface may drag and drop content, such as icon.Movement in a particular pattern could lock or unlock the device, while taps or other interactions with the surface may turn on or off certain items, such as the camera.Apple also received patents related to identifying tables in an unstructured document, light sensitive displays with object detection calibration, and audio port configuration for compact electronic devices, among many other items.

Apple, Samsung, and others are in constant legal battles accusing each other of ripping off designs and other elements. 

Apple has been building several patents over the last months, gearing up for new products with dozens of others granted by the U.S. over the past year.

We will have to wait and see how these new technologies are used in future devices.