ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 23 -- United States Patent no. 12,422,597, issued on Sept. 23, was assigned to Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (Munich).
"Closure mechanism" was invented by Gerhard Viehbacher (Karlsfeld, Germany).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A closure mechanism for an opening defined by a center and an outer edge, includes multiple segments which can all together close the opening. Each segment has a first pivot lever and a second pivot lever and is controlled by the pivoting movements thereof. The segment along with its pivot levers forms a four-bar linkage. All first pivot levers are attached to a first base and all second pivot levers are attached to a second base. The relative movemen...