The computer cases span from the 1980s to the present, including some of the very early Macintosh designs like those in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Mr. Jobs's name appears on 85 iPod and iPod-related patents. Apple introduced these "media players" in 2001 with a chunky box.
The iPhone was unveiled in 2007 on a date that roughly coincides with several of these patents.
The laptop patents bearing Mr. Jobs's name usher in an era of sleek, minimalist laptop design at Apple, which has become the company's ethos.
Many of the objects rendered in these filings were never released to consumers, including some versions of the iMac G4 with several joints.
Package |
Package |
Packaging |
Packaging |
Packaging |
Package |
Package |
Package |
Package |
Packaging |
Packaging |
Packaging |
Packaging |
Patents here describe several flavors of boxes and plastic cradles for iPods and iPhones.
Computer keyboard |
Cursor control device |
Keyboard |
Keyboard |
Keyboard |
Mouse |
Keyboard |
Keyboard |
Keyboard |
Mouse |
Keyboard |
Keyboard |
Keyboard |
Keyboard |
The 1998 patent filing for a "cursor control device" strongly resembles Apple's notorious hockey puck mouse that came with the early iMacs.
This series of patents spans cathode ray tubes and early flat-panel displays to Apple's current, sleek monitors.
User interface ideas for MacOS, from the Dock to Exposé; some ideas originate from NeXT.
Mr. Jobs founded NeXT in 1985, and the company was purchased by Apple in 1996. These patents emerge from this period.
This series of patents reveals the wide extent of Mr. Jobs's design input. Neither staircases nor clasps were out of reach.
Content abstraction presentation along... |
Media preview user interface |
Media device |
Media device |
Rendering icons along a... |
Graphical user interface for a display... |
Patents encompassing the casing and user interface for Apple's digital media receiver were mostly filed in 2006.