Apple has filed a patent application to seek ownership of the design of the huge glass cylinder that acts as the entrance to its Shanghai, China Apple Store location. The store features a glass cylinder that is 12 meters (39 feet, 4.44 inches) tall.
The design of the structure is detailed in a newly published patent application discovered by AppleInsider, entitled “Glass Building Panel and Building Made Therefrom.” The filing describes a number of curved glass panels arranged to form the cylindrical shape found with the final product.
“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,” the filing reads. It continues: “Each glass piece forms an identical circular arc when viewed from either of the two opposing short sides.”
Listed in the patent application for the Shanghai store is a 2007 patent awarded to Apple, partially credited to Steve Jobs, related to laminated glass structures.
The latest application was first filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in May of 2011. It is created to David Andreini, Karl Backus, Jon F. Cooksey, Tim Eliassen, Scott David Hazard, Holger Krueger, Peter Lenk, James O’Callaghan, and Yutang Zhang.
