On Thursday, Patently Apple published a patent application turned in by Apple in December 2011 for the creation of a flexible battery shape that is made up of a a number of different cells connected to one another through a laminate layer.

This is apparently designed to let the battery fit a “form factor of the electronic device,” meaning it would likely be used for products that take on unique shapes, such as the long-rumored iWatch device. Patently Apple also suggests that the flexible battery can fit into many different device types, including watches, but also calculators, laptops, tablets and music players.

According to the patent, the flexible battery pack could also remove certain cells and then integrate them into thermoelectric coolers, flashes or camera, so that the battery can fit into a smaller space. However, the most important part of the patent is that the flexible arrangement will increase device reliability, because it can prevent multiple connected cells from failing all at once due to “environmental factors.”

[via MacRumors]