Yesterday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially gave its stamp of approval to 11 of Apple’s patent designs, covering everything from the MacBook Pro to the iPod classic and even elements of Mac OS X itself.

The news comes courtesy of Patently Apple, who reported a total of 19 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. on Tuesday, 11 of which focused on industrial designs.

Among the industrial design wins for Apple’s portable devices: Patent D606,751 for the iPhone’s cover, originally filed in the second quarter of 2007; Patents D606,967, D606,965, 606,966 and 606,968 covering the iPod classic, three of which were filed in 2007 and one this year; and Patent D607,003 which covers the iPod classic graphical user interface, original filed in the third quarter of 2007.



Apple’s most recent MacBook Pro design also gets a nod, with Patents D606,988 and D606,989 filed in the second quarter of this year. Mac OS X’s Exposé and Stacks features also won two patents, D607,001 and 607,005, originally filed in the third quarter of 2007.

Perhaps the most notable patent in the batch is the one granted for the “Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shield with Cantilever Spring.” Many consumer electronic devices include components that emit electromagnetic radiation, so EMI shields are common used to prevent such radiation from disturbing the other components.

Apple’s new patent aims to solve one big problem with traditional EMI shields, which usually cuts down on the space available in devices with curved housings (or when placed against curved surfaces). Their solution involves utilizing cantilever springs which, if constructed from the same material as the cover, may serve as a ground for the EMI shield.

Many of Apple’s past patent applications provide clues to what the company is cooking up in their labs well before the technology is actually applied to its products.