How do you make an iMac desktop that doubles as a multitouch tablet? If you’re Apple: just like this. Why can’t the future be now already?

The patent above, unearthed by Patently Apple, shows off Apple’s plans to bring together its desktop and tablet lines. Which explains how Mac OS X and iOS might actually live in harmony someday.

Here’s how it would work: sensors would indicate whether the display was oriented vertically for desktop mode, then would automagically go into tablet mode when brought horizontal Or a touch sensor could be implemented to determine how the display is being grasped. The patent covers both desktop and notebook devices.

As with all patents, who knows whether this is technology that will actually come to light or if Apple just filed it defensively to protect their IP. What we can so for sure is that there’s a very definite want for this—from me, at least!—and unless Mac OS X eventually disappears, it’s the best way to bring Apple’s two operating systems together in harmony.