Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) just won the patent for their glass cylinder storefront in Shanghai. It was awarded to the tech maker on Tuesday morning by the United States Patent and Trademark office.
Apple’s glass building is strong as well as beautiful
The patent is labeled “Glass building panel and building made therefrom.” It’s described as a structure made from large glass panels that are held together by metal joints. In order for the design to achieve that perfect “cylinder shape”, the glass panels had to be manipulated to curve exactly to the right shape. The structure also had to be built strong—that’s why it was created with glass beams extending the inner cylinder to the outer edges. The glass fins also connect the areas where the adjacent panels meet.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) detailed their patent, “A building panel and a building formed therefrom, where the building includes a plurality of building panels arranged to form a cylindrical shape, where each panel comprises a single, or monolithic, glass piece, where each glass piece is substantially rectangular and includes two opposing long sides extending in a height direction and two opposing short sides extending substantially in a width direction, and where each glass piece forms an identical circular arc when viewed from either of the two opposing short sides.”
It’s noted that the precise dimensions and sizes could be edited to create similar structures.
Apple knows the importance of obtaining patents
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s innovation doesn’t stop with their products such as the iPhone and iPad. Glass structured stores are not something you see from most brands. It’s something that is truly unique with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and lets customers know that it’s their brand. Winning this patent should help prevent other from stealing the store design and profiting from it. Apple knows the importance of obtaining patents, especially since their products and services are in demand.
