This world of patents is sometimes a bit bizarre when it comes to granting some, and without going any further, the US Patent and Trademark Office. just approved a patent filed by Apple on a ceiling lighting system by assigning it number 9217247.
On the other hand, I do not say that it does not surprise me, since the competition is strong and can copy certain aesthetic aspects that Apple would not be interested in seeing in stores other than its own. However, from my point of view there should be certain limits since, for example, on this occasion nothing is really invented, a "new" system is simply applied to something already invented and which should be freely disseminated.
This system is intended to be installed in the next generations of Apple Store as it has happened in the Apple Store that recently opened in Brussels and of course in the new Apple facilities in Cupertino. In itself, it would be located in the structure of the roof itself with beams and bricks in between, achieving a diffuse light effect on the entire surface instead of using fixed or individual points of light.
The patent has been granted on the mentioned ceiling system that supports the lighting and that includes a support structure configured to be installed in all kinds of rooms along the entire surface.
According to the one presented in the patent, the ceiling panels could go from one end to the other the entire surface using all the panels that are necessary for this, although metallic bands with independent light points could also be installed that would serve as a separation between the panels and that you can see in the image above.
To maintain a uniform and aesthetically pleasing appearance, the ceiling panels can cover most of it, each being the same width and being evenly spaced, being equally interrupted by metal bands with included light points that would serve as a visual limit between one panel and another.