ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 10 -- United States Patent no. 12,410,865, issued on Sept. 9.
"Lubricating seal for reciprocating members" was invented by Joel Aaron Shrock (Berkeley, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A seal for use between a first and second telescopically configured bicycle member, comprises a substantially cylindrical body having a first ring portion and a second ring portion. The first ring portion has a diameter that is different than a diameter of the second ring portion. The top ring portion is coupled to a first telescopic member and the bottom ring portion is coupled to a second telescopic member. The body has an opening defined therethrough from a top surface of the firs...