ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,259,049, issued on March 25, was assigned to APEX BRANDS INC. (Apex, N.C.).

"Chalk box with improved one-way valve" was invented by Cecil Wilson (Sanford, N.C.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A chalk port for retaining chalk within a chalk reservoir of a chalk box may include an interface portion configured to interface with a housing of the chalk box to retain the chalk port in contact with the chalk box, a tapered portion extending away from the interface portion in an axial direction, and a slit assembly disposed at the tapered portion. The tapered portion may have a diameter that reduces as distance from the interface portion increas...