After an Apple event, the press moves to the exhibit space that's located in the lower level of the Steve Jobs Theatre. Here we've all seen photos of MacBooks, iPhones and other devices on tall stands as noted in our cover graphic and the one below. These stands aren't something picked up from a retail or marketing company. These are custom designed by engineering and design teams at Apple.

Yesterday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to a product display stand that restricts movement. One of the leads on this patent is Product Design Engineer Priya Nambiar who has worked on fixtures and furniture for Apple Retail Stores. Her team works on new ways to present Apple products to the public, and these unique stands are just one example.  

Apple's patent relates to a product display stand that reduces undesired movement, such as oscillation, in the product being displayed. Some stands have long shafts or display posts that support a product vertically above a display platform, like a display fixture in a retail setting for example. If the displayed product experiences a force applied by, for example, a customer pushing the product or bumping the display platform, the display post may flex from side to side, oscillating until the force is dissipated. Such oscillation can be of greater magnitude, and last longer, for heavy products (e.g., a laptop or tablet computer) displayed on long, thin posts.

Such oscillation may be undesirable, because it can interfere with an observer clearly viewing the product, and may make the stand appear less sturdy. It can also put more wear and tear on the stand, reducing its useful life.

In some display stand embodiments discussed herein, oscillation of a product displayed on a display post is reduced by a damping assembly, which can be a part of the display stand hidden below a display platform, and so out of sight to an observer viewing the displayed product.

The display post may extend through a hole in the display platform, for example, into a damping chamber of the damping assembly. The damping chamber may contain damping material, such as resilient foam, for example. And the display post may be fixed to a damping flange also positioned within the damping chamber. When the display post moves (e.g., because of a force applied to the displayed product), the flange will also move, compressing the damping material, which absorbs some of the force, thus diminishing the motion of the damping flange, the post, and the displayed product. This makes the displayed product return to a stationary position much faster and with less movement than it would otherwise.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below show a display fixture in a retail environment or at an Apple event having several product display stands; FIGS. 5A and 5B shows a display stand system that reduces movement of a displayed product; and FIG. 6  shows a detailed sectional view of a display stand system for reducing movement of a displayed product.

While it's not a hot new product for fans to get excited about, it's always interesting to read about different kinds of projects at Apple including building designs, retail store fixtures, furniture and packaging that make up Apple's whole marketing image.

For more details, review Apple's granted patent 20230389723. You could view other patents about innovative ideas related to their retail stores here.