ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 8 -- United States Patent no. 12,434,792, issued on Oct. 7.
"Madwater hinge" was invented by Thomas Leo Howard (Barnett, Mo.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present disclosure is directed to an apparatus that flexibly couples a ramp to a boat dock and to methods for constructing this apparatus. These methods may also include steps directed to selecting material strengths or sizes when designing an assembly that attaches the ramp to the boat dock. By allowing relative up-down motion between a boat dock and a ramp using materials with particular characteristics, apparatus built in a manner consistent with the present disclosure are much stronger than conventional appara...