ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 25 -- United States Patent no. 12,338,668, issued on June 24.
"Self-closing residential fire hinge apparatus" was invented by Bryon Smith (Dalton Gardens, Idaho).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A self-closing residential fire hinge apparatus for closing a door during a fire includes a door hinge with a spring-actuated release mechanism. The spring-actuated release mechanism includes a spring that is pre-tensioned in an open position and a coating covering the spring. The coating is a solid material that retains the spring in the open position. The coating has a melting point less than a melting point of the spring. For example, the coating may be formed of bismuth. When th...