ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,312,907, issued on May 27.
"Method and apparatus for a plug with a retractable pivoting mechanism for untethered object" was invented by Gregoire Max Jacob (Houston).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A plug assembly includes a retractable pivoting mechanism, offering temporarily one or more seating surfaces for an untethered object. The retractable pivoting mechanism has two or three pivoting positions, allowing the passage or the seating of an untethered object depending on the flow direction. The retractable pivoting mechanism can include a single retractable pivoting ring or multiple segments forming a ring after pivoting in their closed ...