Back in April Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Wins Design Patent for Large Swing-Out Glass Doors for Next Generation Apple Stores." "Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that covers their utility patent for these glass doors which covers the technical side of their new door system. A second patent in this report covers a 3D mapping projector for iDevices and Macs that could be used to understand / interpret hand gestures to control games and apps.

.

Apple notes in their filing that "An aesthetically appealing and inviting doorway for a building or establishment may be an important tool for attracting business. For example, an aesthetically appealing and inviting storefront for a retail store may, among other things, be an important tool for attracting customers to the store. An aesthetically appealing an inviting storefront may encourage new customers to visit the store, create brand recognition, increase customer awareness of the store, and/or encourage repeat customers to visit the store.

Moreover, a storefront that is aesthetically appealing even when the store is closed may be an important tool for enticing new and repeat customers to visit the store and creating brand recognition. In some cases, a storefront that allows customers to view the interior of store when the store is closed increases customer awareness of the products for sale within the store.

Moreover, controlling the time and manner in which individuals enter a building may be desirable for crowd control. In some instances, automatic control of the time and manner in which individuals enter a building may be desirable.

For technical details on this invention see patent application 20170002604 which was filed in June 2016.

3D Mapping Projector Invention

Back in July Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Wins a Projector Patent allowing Hand Gestures to Control Game Play on iOS Devices." The patent covered a possible future iPhone using a projector that could read 3D images so as to interpret hand gestures that could be used in games and applications.

Apple noted that in "FIG. 1, a user's hand or body may be used to provide a gesture-based user interface, in which user movements detected by means of system control an interactive computer application, such as a game, in place of tactile interface elements such as a mouse, joystick or other accessory."

Today USPTO published a patent application from Apple titled "Projectors of structured light," which is a technical patent covering the same invention as the granted patent issued to them in July. To review the technical aspects of this invention see patent application 20170003122.

Patently Apple presents a detailed summary of patent applications with associated graphics for journalistic news purposes as each such patent application is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trade Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any patent application should be read in its entirety for full and accurate details. About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.