US Patent Issued on March 25 for "Method and apparatus for reducing body stress typically experienced by a snowboarder while on a chairlift" (California, Arizona Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,257,491, issued on March 25.

"Method and apparatus for reducing body stress typically experienced by a snowboarder while on a chairlift" was invented by Ira Goldenring (Ventura, Calif.), Alex Goldenring (Ventura, Calif.) and Jonathan Palafox (Tucson, Ariz.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A Method and apparatus for reducing stress on the body (e.g., foot, ankle, hip, spine) of a snowboarder while sitting on a chairlift. The apparatus includes a boot binding assembly adapted for mounting on the top surface of a snowboard including a boot retention member hinged for movement between a closed position and an open position. For typical downhi...