Apple Inc has filed a patent application for a way to apply touchscreen technology to a computer.

In papers filed with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office on Thursday, the Cupertino, California-based company appears to be looking for a way to take the touchscreen technology showcased on its iPhone and give it new life on computers. (Note - your browser may need a plug-in available through the Patent Office site’s help section to see the drawings.)

AppleInsider reported on Apple’s patent filing in a story posted on its Web site.

Apple said in its filing that the computer mouse and the touch pad are limited in the kinds of gestures they allow users to perform, and that its invention for a multipoint sensing device will open up new possibilities.

The patent application details ways for a user to zoom in on an image on the screen and perform functions by touching one or another icon. The iPhone already uses finger gestures for navigation, a handy piece of technology because the device is too small for a keyboard.

Apple’s application also describes how users could touch a screen with gestures and make use of a simulated keyboard on the screen.

Of course, it remains to be seen if, having made this patent application, Apple develops it further.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)