ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 13 -- United States Patent no. 12,522,306, issued on Jan. 13, was assigned to Caterpillar Inc. (Peoria, Ill.).
"Idler for machines" was invented by Brian B. Umbach (Peoria, Ill.), Martin Tagore Joseph Xavier (Chennai, India) and Seiji Iijima (Hyogo-ken, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An idler and method of manufacturing is disclosed. The idler may comprise a web member, a rim and a plurality of flanges. The web member may include a body. The body may include a front side, a back side and an aperture extending therethrough, wherein the web member is centered about the aperture and has an outer circumference. The rim may be oriented transverse to the web member and d...