The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 47 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover an Apple invention designed to protect devices from free falls. In addition we cover two design patents. The first covers an Apple Watch related design and the second may be related to the iPad Pro. We wrap up this week's granted patent report with our traditional listing of the remaining granted patents that were issued to Apple today.

Granted Patent: Protecting an Electronic Device

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to protective mechanisms designed to protect future iDevices and/or MacBooks from free fall damage. The invention for a protective mechanism is configured to selectively alter a center of mass of the electronic device. One design covers the use of an air foil while another covers the ejection of the battery in order to reduce device damage.

FIG. 5A is an isometric view of a first embodiment of a protective mechanism for a mobile electronic device; FIG. 5B is a rear plan view of the mobile electronic device illustrating a long axis and a position of the protective mechanism of FIG. 5A relative to the long axis.

Apple's granted patent 9,342,108 was originally filed in Q2 2012 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. See Patently Apple's extensive coverage of this invention as a 2013 patent application here. A supporting patent on this invention was also covered in 2013.

Apple wins an unusual iPad Design Patent

Apple was granted design patent for an iPad (D756,353). What makes it difficult to identify is because it has the speaker configuration of an iPad Air and yet Apple highlights the left side of the iPad that presents a mystery area marked but not identified. It's the same area where the 'Smart Connector' is now. Was Apple trying to protect the iPad Pro's design without giving away the specifics? If you have an alternate explanation for this oddity, please send your comment in below.

Apple Wins an Apple Watch Design Patent

Apple was granted a design patent for Apple Watch (D756,357) specifically titled "Electronic Device with Graphical User Interface."

The Remaining Patents granted to Apple Today

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Patently Apple presents only a brief summary of granted patents with associated graphics for journalistic news purposes as each Granted Patent is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any Granted Patent should be read in its entirety for full details. About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Comments are reviewed daily from 5am to 6pm MST and sporadically over the weekend.