ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 8 -- United States Patent no. 12,434,650, issued on Oct. 7, was assigned to Caterpillar Inc. (Peoria, Ill.).
"Rollover protection structure" was invented by James D. Costner III (Decatur, Ill.), Scott M. Shaffer (Tucson, Ariz.), Paul Ives (Twin Lake, Mich.) and Ashraf I. S. Idkaidek (Champaign, Ill.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A rollover protection structure (ROPS) for a work machine includes a rigid strut having a fixed longitudinal length. On one end of the strut, a pivot end mechanism is attached that has a mounting plate that pivots relative to the strut. On the opposite end of the strut, a jack end mechanism is attached that has a mounting plate that extends long...